


Thrown to the Dogs

by Ahmose_Inarus



Series: Let Me In [38]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Dogs, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-31
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:14:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 35,739
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28455909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ahmose_Inarus/pseuds/Ahmose_Inarus
Summary: The team goes to Vermont on a case where an UnSub's murder weapon is something they've never seen since Tobias Henkle... Dogs. When an undercover operation goes horribly awry, Reid falls into the UnSub's hands. But the UnSub isn't what he thought he would be, and neither are the dogs... it is a case that Reid will ultimately look back on fondly.
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid
Series: Let Me In [38]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/260386
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

QUANTICO, VIRGINIA

6 AM

Aaron Hotchner was woken by the rapidly cooling sheets around him, and the soft rustling of clothes. He didn’t move when he felt the blankets being tucked around him, and then a soft kiss to his forehead. Then he heard Reid slipping out of the room. After a moment, he blinked his eyes open, looking at the dark, empty room. He heard Reid going down the stairs, and then the front door opened. Hotch moved to sit up on his knees, putting his hands on the headboard of the bed. Then he reached out and parted the curtains slightly, peering out of the window that was over the headboard. 

He saw Reid walking down the front path, putting ear buds into his ears and slip through the little country garden gate at the four foot stone wall that surrounded the property. He was wearing sweat pants and (Hotch smirked) one of HIS old sweatshirts with an FBI Hoodie. His long, tousled curls had been pulled back into a ponytail, and instead of his usual converse he was wearing athletic shoes. 

After messing with his iPod for a moment, he pulled on some gloves against the misty morning chill, pulled up his hood and started to jog down the street. 

Hotch smiled, and turned to get out of bed. He headed into the bathroom and showered, then stood before the mirror with a towel around his waist and shaved.

“Nyao!”

“In a minute.” He mumbled, answering the hungry demands of the seal point Siamese watching him from the doorway. 

“MAO!” He glanced at the impatient cat and rolled his eyes, applying his aftershave. Then he went to the closet and tossed his towel in the hamper, pulling on clean underwear and a pair of black slacks. “Murrrow?” He sighed and looked at the flame point male Siamese that was now sitting next to the female.

“Apollo, Artemis, not now.” He grumbled, wondering when he had taken to talking to his lover’s pets. He pulled on a white undershirt and put on a white dress shirt over it, and draped his dark red tie around his neck before pulling on a pair of socks… he had to find a matching set first… Reid had done the laundry last and didn’t believe in matching socks. Then he put on his bright shiny dress shoes, grabbed his suit coat and left the bathroom, heading downstairs. The cats, nine months old, followed, meowing eagerly. As soon as he got to the kitchen, draping his suit jacket over the back of a chair, he filled the cats’ bowls and just smiled for a moment, listening to them purr loudly as they ate. Then he turned and grabbed a pan out of the cabinet, some butter, bacon and eggs from the fridge, and Eggo waffles from the freezer.

When the front door finally opened, Reid immediately appeared in the doorway, looking slightly annoyed.

“And here I was going to make YOU breakfast.” Reid snorted.

“Nope.” Hotch grinned, chopping up tomatoes, onions and bell peppers. “Go shower sand get dressed. Breakfast will be ready when you are.” Reid smiled.

“Alright.” And he turned and headed up the stairs. Hotch smiled to himself, trying not to think about the stirrings in his pants at the sight of his lover all hot, panting, sweaty and flushed from his run in the cold, December morning.

When Reid came in for breakfast, wearing cords and a white dress shirt with a goldenrod tie, Hotch turned and set the plates down on the table. 

“Ooh.” Reid commented, looking down at the waffles and omelets. Hotch then presented him with a steaming mug of coffee. Reid took a large sip, and smiled. “Mmm… perfect, Aaron.” He sighed, and Hotch smiled and leaned over, gently kissing his lover.

The basked in the moment, inhaling the scent of one another’s aftershave, then ate their breakfast in companionable silence. Then they did the dishes together and headed up stairs to brush their teeth. Reid pulled a gray sweater vest on and grabbed an old tweed jacket, running his hand through his hair in front of the mirror as Hotch did the same, though he had gel on his hands. He washed them, and smiled when Reid leaned in and kissed his cheek.

“Love you…”

“Love you too… let’s go.” Hotch said, and the pair headed back downstairs. Reid went to put on his converse over his socks; one was solid black, and the other had kittens chasing little balls of yarn. Only Reid remembered that this was the sock he had worn when he had testified in court, only the day before he was abducted by Coronado and taken to South America… He might have thrown it out, but… he LOVED the sock!

When he stood Hotch emerged from the kitchen, wearing his suit jacket and carrying two travel cups of coffee. Reid smiled and accepted his and the pair headed for the garage. They struggled into their coats (Hotch with the keys in his teeth), grabbed their respective briefcase and messenger bag, and opened the door to the garage. Reid watched as Hotch set the alarm, and then they both stepped into the garage and closed the door. They heard the triple beep that let them know that the system was armed. Hotch locked the door (they had learned on a case to ALWAYS lock the door to the garage, as people could find a way to open the remote garage door itself) and pushed the button to open the automatic garage door before he got into the car. As soon as the motor was on, a shivering Reid reached for the heat, and Hotch smiled as he backed the car out onto the street.

He turned on the fog lights in the morning mist that was still hanging thick, and began to slowly drive down the quiet street.

“… She’s insane.” Reid suddenly breathed, eyes wide. Confused by this seemingly random outburst, Hotch turned to look where Reid was looking. They were passing their neighbor’s house, two doors down. It was a gothic style house, almost victorian in some aspects. It was dark wood and brick, and quite hidden behind large trees. 

But what had captured Reid’s attention was their neighbor herself. A petite woman was walking down the path. Her ethnicity seemed to be Latino or Middle Eastern (it was hard to tell from their distance and the fog), but what Reid had been speaking of was the fact that despite the cold morning, the woman was strolling down the front walk in a VERY short black nightie with a plunging neckline, and a little lightweight robe with an oriental print on it, barely reaching her knees. She blinked up and noticed the two men staring, then gave them a brilliant smile and waved as she picked up the newspaper. Then she hurried out to intercept them.

Hotch slowed the car to a stop and rolled down the window, ignoring Reid’s squeal of “You’ll let the heat out!!!”

“You have the heat on?” The woman asked, eyes sparkling in amusement. “Why? This is nothing.” Reid just gawked at her. She grinned and offered her hand. “Welcome to the neighborhood. I’m Samira!”

“Aaron.” Hotch greeted with a smile, shaking her hand. “That’s Spencer. And he grew up in the desert. He’s not much for the cold.”

“Ah. I guess I can forgive him then.” She said, her musical accent (and their now closer, clearer view), as well as her name giving her up as being Middle Eastern. She turned and waved her hand back towards the house. “That’s Alice. She… has no manners this early in the morning.”

Hotch and Reid glanced back at the house. Standing into the front door was a tall, curvy, full figured woman with red hair in pigtails at the base of her skull. She was wearing hot pink pajama pants and a black pajama shirt with a skull and crossbones on it… the skull was wearing a hot pink bow on the top of its head. She was wearing a long red robe with black lining, and after she gave a sleepy wave, she turned back into the house, revealing a large black spider with the lightning bolt on it emblemized on the back of the robe.

“Come back in the PM, she’ll be much more friendly.” Samira grinned. “I won’t keep you, you’re obviously heading in to work. Nice to meet you!” And she stepped back and waved as they drove away.

“… In. Sane.” Reid stated flatly, turning up the heater and sipping his hot coffee. Hotch just laughed.

“You’re the one who went jogging this morning.”

“And I couldn’t feel my extremities when I got home.” Reid grumbled. “And I was even bundled up. SHE is next to naked.”

Hotch just grinned. 

When they got to the BAU, Reid scampered from the car to the warm building as quick as he could, Hotch on his heels with an affectionate smile.

“Morning Spence. Hotch.”

“Good morning, JJ.” The pair said in unison, making her grin.

“Great timing.” She told them, holding up a file. “Case just came in.” The pair adjusted their trajectory to the Round Table Room, heading there instead of to their respective office and desk.

Ten minutes later, the last member of the team strolled in.

“You’re late.” Hotch announced.

“Like I give a damn.” Rossi snorted, taking a seat and smirking at the annoyed look he got from the younger Unit Chief. But Reid grinned and snickered to himself, and Hotch let it go.

“Vermont.” JJ announced, and everyone paid attention. “Seven murder victims. They’ve disappeared from all over the state, but their bodies have all turned up outside of a small town called Fox Creek.” And seven photos popped up on the screen. “Both male and female, aged between eighteen and thirty three.”

“No gender or age preference?” Morgan asked, frowning.

“No racial preference, either.” Prentiss pointed out. Three were white, one was black, two were Hispanic and one was Asian.

“The first one disappeared ten months ago. They go missing for anywhere from a week to a month and a half, and then their body shows up along the same hiking trail…”

JJ changed the screen, and Garcia let out a horrified cry, turning away.

“My God…” Prentiss breathed.

“They’ve been torn apart by an animal…” Reid murmured, studying the picture carefully.

“They were covered in canine DNA.” JJ announced.

“Oh my God!” Garcia gasped, still looking away. “I do NOT want to hear that!”

“Sorry Garcia…” JJ said with a sad smile.

“Any idea what these victims have in common?” Morgan asked.

“They were all Veterinary Technicians.” JJ said. “They vanished from their place of work.”

“Have they gone over the people who went in that day?” Hotch asked.

“No common names, or pets.” JJ said. “Dogs and cats of all breed, and all different names. Doesn’t seem to be anyone in common. The authorities just found a body last night. Someone always goes missing within a week of them finding a body, so…”

“So we have six days before someone else disappears.” Rossi sighed.

“Wheels up in thirty.” Hotch said firmly, and the team dispersed.

\--------

The plane ride was quiet. Reid spent the entire time curled up in his seat, buried in the photos of the mauled victims, inspecting them in great detail with a frown on his face. The rest of the team went through the victim’s files, as Reid had already read and memorized them.

“You know…” He suddenly announced, “I think that these were done by different dogs.”

“I doubt only one animal did that.” Morgan snorted.

“No no, I mean… different breeds…” Reid explained. “Look here.” And he laid down a photo. “Here, you have a VERY defined bite mark. I’m willing to bet that this was either an American Bulldog, or a Staffordshire Terrier.”

“A what?” JJ asked.

“More commonly known as a Pit Bull.” Reid said, calmly. “But this… see how this one is longer and more narrow? This was probably something like a shepherd… German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, something along those lines. And this one here? It’s longer than a pit, more narrow than a pit, but it’s shorter and wider than a shepherd… I’m guessing a hound or a retriever… And judging by what I’m seeing… there are several of each breed. And the wounds aren’t in the same stages of healing. These victims were attacked by numerous dogs of several different breeds over a week or more…”

The Team sat back to think on this information…

It was snowing when they arrived. They all clutched their coats closely around themselves as the biting wind tried to get to them. JJ slipped on a patch of ice, and Reid barely managed to reach out and catch her with an arm around her shoulders. JJ smiled up at the tall genius, and they continued the short trek to the two SUV’s belonging to the local sheriff’s department. The sheriff and one of his deputies were sitting in the diver’s seats, with the heat blazing.

The team threw their things into the trunks, and hopped into the two vehicles. Once Hotch shut his door, he gave an almighty shiver before turning to the man in the driver’s seat. The man, eyes twinkling, smiled and offered his hand.

“Welcome to the Green Mountains in the winter!” He announced cheerfully, and Reid and JJ exchanged looks at the little green strip of garland running around the band of his sherriff’s hat, with little red bows on it. “I’m Sheriff Taylor. Call me Mark.”

“Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner. Call me Hotch.” The Unit Chief said, then turned to the back seat. “This is Agent Jennifer Jareau and Dr. Spencer Reid. The others you’ll meet when we get to the station.”

“Alright!” Mark said happily, putting the car into drive. “Well, I’m going to go ahead and take you to the station and we can start going over everything. This weather’s only gonna get worse. No sense in taking you to the crime scenes and risk getting snow bound.”

“When it is supposed to die down?” JJ asked from the back seat.

“Overnight.” Mark responded. “Should have some sun in the morning.”

“thank God…” Reid gasped from the back, and Hotch grinned at hearing the young doctor’s teeth chattering.

“You okay back there?” Mark asked, chuckling.

“He’s from the desert.” Hotch grinned.

“Ah. Welcome to the north, doctor!”

“Yeah. Great. Thanks.” Reid grumbled, and JJ grinned at him.

“Well, I really appreciate you folks coming out here to help us out. We’re not exactly equipped to deal with a serial killer, much less one using dogs as his murder weapon… never heard of that one before. Makes you wonder where the hell he got that idea from!”

“Actually, in this one episode of ‘Highlander: The Series’, there was one Immortal who was using dogs to run down and exhaust the Immortal he was hunting so that they would be too tired to defend themselves when he moved in to take their head.” JJ blinked and stared at Reid, and Mark looked at Hotch. The man just shrugged, smiling lightly in amusement.

“Sorry…” Reid mumbled, slumping down in his seat. JJ laughed and ruffled his hair, and they drove in silence for a bit.

“I hate silence.” Mark suddenly announced. “Mind if I put on some music?”

“That’s fine.” Hotch said. “I would prefer to discuss the case when we’re all present.” And so Mark flipped on the radio. Elvis came on, singing “Blue Christmas”.

“Does anyone object to Christmas music?” Mark asked.

“No, not at all.” JJ said with a smile.

“… Did you know that—“

“Spence. Just enjoy the music. And the scenery.” JJ shushed him, and Reid blinked, then obediently turned and looked out the window at the snow covered forests. Eventually, the tranquility of the view, the soft Christmas music and the warmth of the car made him drowsy. Hotch blinked when JJ tapped his shoulder. He twisted around in his seat to look back at her, and she looked at Reid. Hotch followed her gaze, and smiled. Reid was slowly drooping, eyes sliding closed. Then he would give a small jerk and her eyes would snap open, showing startled awareness for a moment before glazing over and beginning to slide closed again. Shaking a bit in a silent chuckle, Hotch shook his head and turned to face the front again.

Finally, not quite an hour after they left the airstrip, the sheriff pulled into the parking lot of his small station. It was like a little log cabin sitting in the show. Christmas wreathes hung in every window, and the place was strung in twinkling Christmas lights and garland. Everyone jumped out of the cars and gathered their belongings, then turned to the sheriff.

“Alright! Come on in! The fire’s goin’, hot chocolate and coffee are brewing, and Ms. Partridge and Ms. Snow have it decorated all cozy like for the holidays.”

“… Snow? Partridge? As in ‘Partridge in a pear tree’?” Morgan asked, quirking his eyebrows. “You serious?”

“As the plague, agent.” Mark grinned. “Wanna hear something even better?”

“Okay…” Morgan said, slowly. 

“Their first names are Holly and Ivy.” Mark chuckled, and then outright laughed at the looks on the faces of the team. “They are both big Christmas buffs, but we don’t complain. Keeps things nice and happy. Come on in!” And he led them shuffling through the snow up to the door. They stepped inside, and their immediate thoughts were that Ms. Partridge and Snow were also big Martha Stewart buffs… they had gone all out decking the halls of the station. Every wall had lit garland draping along its borders with big red bows on them. The desks of the deputies were strung with tinsel and Christmas lights, and Morgan carefully stepped out from under the hanging light in the foyer, once he noticed the mistletoe

“… Oh my god… Garcia would LOVE this…” Emily grinned, looking around and admiring a sparkling Christmas tree.

“No kidding…” Rossi snorted. “I feel like I’ll stick out like a sore thumb unless I put on a Santa hat.”

“Are you volunteering, dearie?” they all turned and looked as a little old woman with silver hair and winged spectacles on a delicate little nose. A silver chain hung from the ends of her glasses to drape around her neck so if she were to drop them or remove them, they would not be lost or broken. The chain was decorated with numerous little charms. She was wearing a red and white sweater with a big green wreathe on it, and as they watched, red lights in the wreathe blinked on and off. She was wearing one of those obnoxious little jingle bells around her neck and more little bells dangled from her ears. She wore a bracelet that looked like a string of little Christmas lights. She even had a sprig of holly tucked in amongst her silvery curls.

“Uhhh… Holly, I presume?” Rossi asked.

“Correct.” She said, plopping the Santa hat onto his head.

“Ms. Snow, the agents don’t wanna wear the hats. OR the reindeer antlers.” Mark said in amused tolerance, and sure enough, when the team looked around they spotted a couple of deputies sitting at their desks in reindeer antlers. The youngest deputy, younger than Reid, was being teased by another deputy as he was being forced to wear a red rubber nose with his antlers.

“Heh… that could be you when we get home, kid.”

“Shut up, Morgan.” Reid snorted, smacking Morgan’s hand away when he went to ruffle his hair, then gave the man a look when he said, “Oh, they’re playin this just for you, Pretty Boy.”

Alvin & the Chipmunks Christmas was on in the background. And sure enough, as the sheriff had said, there was a fireplace in the station, and it was crackling merrily. “Wait ‘til Ms. Snow and Ms. Partridge break out the chestnuts.”

“… Seriously?” JJ asked.

“Seriously.” Mark chuckled, leading them into the conference room where the fireplace was. The team was hard pressed to hide their delight when he let them know that the conference room was for their use while they were there, and Morgan said something about roasting marshmallows and weenies, triggering Reid’s lecture mode as he went off of a talk about the nick names for Hot Dogs. He was promptly shushed.

“FBI?” They turned when a couple of deputies walked in, smiling.

“We are.” Hotch nodded. 

“Welcome to Vermont.” Said the elder of the pair, and they handed out mugs of hot cocoa.

“Wow… and they say SOUTHERN hospitality is good.” Emily said with a grin, accepting her mug. “Oh, and marshmallows!”

“There’s a little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg in there, too.” Said the young deputy who had been earlier wearing the red rubber nose. He grinned. “Ms. Snow always makes it for us like that.”

“Wow…” JJ said after taking a sip. “Can we have her?”

“I doubt she’d leave.” Mark laughed. “She’s been working here since any of us were kids. For the younger in our numbers, since before they were born! She started here when she was twenty two way back when… And Ms. Partridge since she was seventeen.”

“Seventeen?” Rossi asked.

“Her daddy was the sheriff back then.” Mark said with a fond smile. “Dale was a damn good one, too. But I’m fully convinced that Holly and Ivy will be here til the day they die!”

“Don’t even SPEAK of that!” The older deputy in the room gasped in exaggerated horror. “You’ll bring the place down on top of us!” Several deputies drifting in and out of the room laughed. Obviously they were all very fond of their “den mothers”, who were bustling around in the… full kitchen.

“… you have a kitchen?” Emily asked.

“This used to be a residence back in the fifties. Don Martin. He was a deputy. When he passed on, he left everything to the town, since he didn’t have any family. So his home was made our new station. Conference room is the old den, living room is our bull pen,” he indicated to the largest room filled with the desks of his dozen deputies, “old bedroom is my office. Guest bedroom was converted for our holding cells. It’s not much, but it works for us.”

“It’s nice. Rustic.” Hotch admitted.

“Cozy.” JJ added with a grin.

“anyway, we got the evidence boards you folks wanted set up here with everything we’ve got.”

“I’d like to meet with the ME in the morning and see the bodies if that can be arranged.” Reid said, walking over to inspect some new photographs of the messy wounds.

“Not a problem.” The sheriff said with the nod.

“Rossi, why don’t you go with him.” Hotch suggested, and the eldest profiler nodded and Hotch briefly wondered why the man was still wearing the Santa hat. 

“You got WiFi?” Morgan asked, sitting down and pulling out a laptop. 

“Uh, yeah.” The sheriff said, and moved to bend over the keyboard. He tapped away, then straightened. “There ya go. You’re in the network.”

“Thanks.” Morgan said.

“Any new developments since you sent us the case files?” JJ asked.

“Not much.” Mark sighed.

“Do you require all owners to register their dogs?” Reid asked suddenly.

“… Doesn’t mean they DO it.”

“I know, but it may give us a starting point.” Reid said, fingers fluttering a bit. “Do you know anyone who owns a large number of dogs, including shepherd, hounds, and possibly some pit bulls or another similarly sized bully breed?”

“I know a few folks who have dogs like that, but no one person who has them all.” Mark confessed. “If he’s got as many dogs as you say, he doesn’t live close to anyone.”

“So, we’ll want to check out people in rural area.”

“This is Vermont, Agent.” Mark chuckled. “Pretty much the whole STATE is rural. And we’re a smaller state, so there’s no guarantee that this guy even LIVES in the state.”

“I’m aware of the chances of that.” Reid murmured with a frown. “Could I get a map of the local area and then a map of a broader area? Maybe the state of Vermont and a bit of the surrounding states.”

“Sure. I’ll dig one up for you.” Mark said. Then, Ms. Snow and Ms. Partridge bustled in bearing some platters.

“Here you go, my dears.” Ms. Snow said, beaming. They set down the platters. One was covered in crackers, and another was covered in slices of cheese and sausages. Two more platters with bowls went down. Once plate was potato chips with several dips, and the other was tiny little cookies and sweet dessert dips.

“These are all from the Vermont Country Store!” Ms. Partridge announced. “If you like them, I can give you directions to the nearest location!”

“They make fudge, too!” Added Ms. Snow, and the ladies left the room. 

“Ladies, I don’t think they’re here to go shopping. And even if they were, the snow will make it quite the chore.” The Sheriff pointed out.

“You hush, Mark!” Ms. Partridge announced. Mark just grinned and shrugged at the team, picking up a cracker and a piece of cheese.

“Vermont White Cheddar! Give it a go!” He said, and munched away.

After sharing equally amused glances, the team sat down to enjoy the snacks, hot cocoa and the fire, and discuss the case as the weather had indeed trapped them there at the station, not letting them get to any crime scenes, witnesses or the coroner’s office. And soon it was time to head to the little inn across the street.

“Don’t bother with their continental breakfast.” Mark told them, grinning. “You’ll have the best breakfast in the world right here at the station tomorrow morning, courtesy of our Den Mothers!!!”


	2. Chapter 2

VERMONT

6 AM

Just as the sheriff had told the team, when they trudged across the street to the station first thing in the morning, Ms. Partridge and Ms. Snow were bustling about in the kitchen, preparing breakfast for “their boys”.

The deputies were drifting in and out, giving the old ladies hugs and collecting their plates, and then heading to the conference room to eat, carefully avoiding the case files and crime scene photos. Morgan was only too happy to be the first to join them, obtaining for himself a large platter of eggs, bacon, hash browns, pancakes and biscuits smothered in gravy. This was accompanied by a large mug of coffee and a glass of orange juice. The girls stared at his plate in horror. 

Rossi followed, his own meal very much the same except he made a face of disgust at the biscuits and gravy. Hotch on the other hand, was all over those. He skipped the pancakes.

JJ and Emily stuck to eggs and pancakes with fruit, and Reid sat down with just a large mug of coffee and a single strip of bacon held delicately between his thumb and forefinger. At least, until Ms. Snow plunked down a loaded plate before him, telling him that he needed to put some meat onto his skinny bones if he didn’t want to freeze to death in the Northern winter. Reid just stared in horror at his plate, which resembled Morgan’s monster of a breakfast.

“Um… I… I don’t want this… It’s… WAY too much!”

“I’ll eat it!” Announced Sheriff Mark Taylor, walking over and sitting down across from Reid. He leaned over and snagged his plate, sliding it across the table to his own spot, immediately digging in.

“MARK!” Ms. Partridge scolded, furiously. “Your mother taught you better manners than that!” And then she turned to Reid. “What would you like, dear?”

“I… I’m fine.” Reid mumbled, flushing.

“Nonsense. You need to eat. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Just tell me what you want and I’ll make it!”

“Um… an egg and toast is fine.” Reid finally said, tentatively.

“Alrighty! Poached eggs on toast with bacon and hash browns on the side!”

“Wait, what?!” Reid began, but then just sighed as Ms. Partridge scurried away. “Okay then…”

“So this is why you guys all come in to work an hour early?” Emily asked, grinning at the rowdy affirmative cheers that she got from the sheriff and deputies.

“And they do this every morning?” Hotch asked, smiling between bites of his hash browns. Another affirmative cheer, which doubled when Ms. Snow and Ms. Partridge walked in.

“Oh, you boys settle down now.” Ms. Snow said, smiling. Ms. Partridge on the other hand, scowled.

“I see elbows on the table, napkins NOT in laps, and I’ll have none of this hullabaloo at the breakfast table! Mark, you know better than to talk with your mouth full, much less yell and holler.”

“Yes ma’am.” Mark said, swallowing and politely wiping his mouth on his napkin before tucking it into his lap. Ms. Partridge snorted and went around refilling coffees. Ms. Snow in the meantime, had set a plate down in front of Reid.

“Eat up, dear.” She said in a motherly tone, then turned to a deputy and picked up his empty plate. “Would you like seconds, Randy?”

“Maybe a bit more egg and hashbrowns.” He said with a smile.

“And a strip of bacon?”

“You know me too well.” Randy grinned, and watched the women shuffle back into the kitchen.

“They were mothers, weren’t they?” Emily asked.

“Yep.” Mark said with a grin, double checking to see that neither of the elderly ladies were watching him to catch him talking with his mouth full. “Ms. Snow had a girl and three boys. Ms. Partridge had five boys. They’ve all moved out of state, so they’ve kind of adopted us as surrogate boys.”

“That is so sweet.” Emily said with a grin. Reid perked up as he tasted the poached eggs on toast, and began to wolf it down. Hotch quirked an eyebrow and made a mental note; Reid likes poached eggs on toast.

Once he had cleaned his plate, Reid found Ms. Snow setting a plate of pancakes before him. The team snickered, but to their surprise, Reid only blinked at the pancakes, and then dug in. Even Hotch was impressed. He had never seen the boy eat that much for breakfast before.

“You are gonna put on fifty pounds while we’re here if you keep eating like that.” Morgan said with a grin.

“Good.” Ms. Snow said, refilling Morgan’s orange juice. “He could stand to gain that.” Reid turned red and slouched down in his chair.

“Sit up straight!” Ms. Partridge barked, and Reid promptly obeyed, eyes widening. “Be a gentlemen!” the Agents and deputies laughed.

Finally, breakfast was cleared away, everyone clocked in and got to work.

“Can I get a ride to the coroner’s office?” Reid asked, standing and draining his coffee. “I’d like to take a closer look at the bodies.”

“… You just ate.” One of the deputies said, and Reid blinked when he realized that everyone was staring at him. He turned red (again) and averted his eyes to the floor, shoving his hands into his pockets and shuffling his feet, anxiously.

“I’m coming with you.” Rossi announced, standing. “Once I refill my coffee.” Reid nodded with a smile and the pair went to do just that.

“Al, will you drive them?” Mark asked, looking at his senior deputy.

“Sure. As long as I don’t have to look at the bodies with them… I just ate!” Amused looks were exchanged amongst the team, and then Reid and Rossi bundled up, and clutching their coffees, trotted out to the car that Al had started warming up for them. The drive over to the coroner’s office wasn’t too long, but it took longer than usual due to the thick snow drifts.

“Lazy snow plows…” Grumbled the aging deputy, as he carefully drove around some snow that had tumbled into the road. The sun was rising as they arrived at the coroner’s office. The building was downright depressing and dreary compared to the station… there were no Christmas lights, wreathes or garland… there was a small fake Christmas tree on the main counter, but other than that, it could have been any other time of the year.

“Hey Marty.” Al greeted when a man in his early forties emerged. He nodded.

“Al.” He said in a simple greeting. “And you must be FBI.”

“Yes. I’m SSA David Rossi, and this is Dr. Spencer Reid.”

“Good to meet you. Don’t bother taking off the coats. It’s cold back there.” Marty said, and they all trooped back to where they victims were all laid out on metal slabs, awaiting their inspection. Rossi sighed and looked over them while Reid pulled on a pair of gloves and immediately got to work, leaning in close and inspecting the wounds for himself.

“… You uh, found canine hair on the victims?” He asked, not glancing up from a large, mangled bite wound.

“Yeah. I did.”

“Send them in to FBI Analysts, see if we can determine what breed of dog they came from… it could help us narrow down a profile…” Reid mumbled, prodding at the wounds with gloved fingers. “Hey Rossi… You have a dog.”

“… Yeah.”

“What do you make of—“

“Look, kid… just because I have a dog, it doesn’t mean I know anything about dog bites or dog attacks. I shoot ducks, and he retrieves them. Otherwise, he just chews up my socks.”

“Not your fancy Italian Leather shoes?” Reid smirked.

“Oh, he learned a LONG time ago not to do that.” Rossi snorted, and the M.E. chuckled.

By the time Rossi and Reid arrived back at the Police Station, it was lunch time. And to their amusement, the two little old ladies had cooked it up again! And to Reid’s delight, it was an old lifelong favorite of his, down to every last detail… Tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches and warm cinnamon apple sauce. The team sat around having lunch and cocoa as they all discussed the results of their morning’s work.

“I got together with Garcia.” Morgan said. “And we’ve found a pattern in the veterinarians that this guy hits. He’s not abducting techs from the same offices… he’s going in a circle.” And Morgan showed the team on a map.

“Do we know which one he’ll hit next?” Hotch asked. Morgan nodded, and stuck a tack into the map.

“Here. Doctor Audrey Wolfgang.” He announced. “And judging by the assumed time of death, another is going to be taken any day now.”

“… So what do we do? Have her close up until we catch this guy?” The sheriff asked. 

“If we close it, he’ll only go on to the next one.” Emily sighed.

“… We need to lure him out… He’s going to strike either way. May as well let it be on our terms.” Rossi said, slowly.

“You mean… use an undercover?” the sheriff asked.

“Have all of Dr. Wolfgang’s techs take off, put in one of our own so that they are the only option…” Rossi said.

“Alright then.” The sheriff nodded. “But… who can pose as a Vet Tech?” there was a long moment of silence. And then a single voice spoke up.

“… Me.” Everyone turned and looked at Reid.

“You?” Morgan asked, looking amused. “Reid, what on earth makes you think that you can pose as a vet tech?”

“… the month I spent being trained as one by Jonathan Wilkes in February.” Reid said, simply. (AN: See the Lies of Life)

The team stared at him.

“My God… he DID train you, didn’t he?” Hotch finally said. “… Alright.”

“What?!” Morgan yelped. “Hotch, you can’t seriously—“

“We don’t have time, Morgan.” Hotch said. “We have to send Reid in now before an innocent civilian gets taken.”

“… Wait… now?!”

“Now.” Hotch said. “Let’s get moving.”

And two hours later, they were sitting in Dr. Audrey Wolfgang’s office, and she was staring at them.

“Let me get this straight.” She said, slowly. “Some psycho is kidnapping vet techs from all over the state, and after a month or so, they’re found torn apart by dogs?!”

“Exactly.” Hotch said. “And YOUR clinic is next in line.” She covered her mouth, looking sick. “We want to put one of our agents in undercover as a tech. And we need you to send the others home.” 

She stared at him, then laughed. “You really think than an FBI Agent can pretend to be a Vet Tech?! Look, that requires specialized training that takes months!”

“I’m aware of that.” Hotch said. “Dr. Wolfgang, allow me to introduce SSA Dr. Spencer Reid. He will be your Vet Tech.” Reid gave her a little smile, and wave, and she gave him a look of dismay.

“No, Agent Hotchner. I don’t think you understand—“

“I can read and write the appropriate medical notes.” Reid announced, cutting her off. “I know how to properly restrain dogs and cats, I can draw up and give vaccines, take the temperature, pulse and respiration, assist in basic surgeries such as castration, ovariohysterectomy and dental cleanings, I know how to place and remove IV and urinary catheters, I can give IV and SQ fluids, I know the proper protocols for vaccine reactions, and how to care for—“

“Alright, alright!” She cut him off. “And just HOW do you know that?”

“For starters, I have an eidetic memory and I can read about 20,000 words per minute. I’ve read thirty books dealing with Veterinary Medicine. That and I had a month of hands on training with a Dr. Jonathan Wilkes when he abducted me and tried to turn me into his dead son.” 

She stared at him.

“… I can take care of horses, too.” Reid offered meekly.

“Okay. Let’s see if I have scrubs your size, and then we’ll see how you do before I send my techs home…” 

Reid nodded, eagerly, and was soon scruffing a very angry cat for her to administer vaccines to. He worked hard for about three hours with the two (scared) vet techs watching before Dr. Wolfgang finally said that he would do, and sent the (relieved) techs home. And so Spencer Reid spent the rest of the day working in her clinic assisting her in seeing patients. Garcia had tapped into their system and checked the identity of everyone who checked in and did a thorough check on them. 

Over the next three days, several of clients were put on a ‘suspisious’ list, but no one had tried to abduct Reid.

On the fourth day, the little bell jingled as the door opened. The receptionist looked up when a man called ‘Hello?’. 

“Good afternoon!” She called, walking over to him. He was wearing dark sunglasses and had a large Golden Retriever by his side, wearing a harness that had both a leash, and a handle. He was clutching the handle. He turned his head into the direction of the receptionist. She reached out and laid a hand on his.

“Well, hello there.” He said with a smile. “I uh… I’m here with relatives for the holidays, and I think Brandywine here may have somethin’ in her paw. Front left… An’ she’s due for her Bordetella booster this week. Got the first one before I headed out of town. Here… this should say it…” And he pulled a wrinkled and folded piece of paper from his pocket. “Any chance you folks can take a walk in?”

“Of course.” The receptionist said, warmly. “If you’ll just come this way with me, I’ll get your information.” And she led the blind man over to the desk and got him checked in before guiding him into an exam room. She stepped through the door on the other side and into the treatment area. Reid was at the time going through and checking on all of the cats who were being boarded for the holidays, feeding and watering them, giving them some scratches behind the ears, and changing their litter boxes. He looked up at the receptionist.

“We’ve got a walk in.” She said, needlessly. “Seeing eye dog, needs a bordetella booster and may have something in her left front paw.”

“Thanks.” Reid said, closing the kitty condo and standing. He washed his hands and went into the exam room after checking the paperwork. “Hi, Mr. Dalton. I’m Spencer.” He greeted. “I hear Brandywine may have hurt herself?” He asked. The man nodded vaguely in his direction. “Okay then… What I’m going to do is a quick preliminary exam for you, and Dr. Wolfgang will be here in a moment to check that paw and administer the vaccine.”

“Alright.” The man nodded. The dog whined and let out a low ‘whuff!’ at Reid (the veterinarian had noticed and was amused by the Reid effect) but she allowed Reid to take her temperature, pulse and respiration. 

“Everything looks and sounds good do far.” Reid said. “Excuse me.” And he slipped out of the room, handing the paperwork to the doctor to review and pulling up the bordetella vaccine. Then he accompanied Dr. Wolfgang into the room and she began to do the physical exam, all the while chatting with Mr. Dalton. She gave the vaccine, and then checked the paw, laughing and sputtering when the dog continuously licked her in the face while she tried to work. Reid knelt and took the dog’s head in his hands and petted her and talked to her, letting Dr. Wolfgang work easier.

“Hmm… eehhhh… yup. Here we go.” She said, and the dog whined. “Looks like we have a little sliver of glass. Spencer, can you hand me the tweezers and the Chlorohex scrub.” Reid did as he was told, and helped hold the dog still while the doctor got the piece of glass out and scrubbed the tiny wound clean. The dog whined.

“I know it stings, Brandywine, I’m sorry…” The doctor told the dog. “Well, it’s a small, shallow cut, nothing that will need stitches. What I would say is leave the paw alone, keep it clean and dry and don’t let her lick it. An e-collar may be needed.”

“I got one at home from her spay surgery.” The man said, nodding. Then he chuckled. “She’ll love that. Put a bag on her foot when she goes outside?”

“Yes sir, that’s right.” The doctor said. “Spencer will get her fixed up for that. Do you need any help outside?”

“That would be nice. Not sure where my ride parked. And she doesn’t like jumping into the car, we have to lift her in.”

“Alright then, Spencer can help you out.”

“My pleasure.” Reid said with a nod. And then he found the bag that the newspaper had come in and put it over the dog’s paw, and secured it there with some self-adhering bandages while Mr. Dalton paid. Then he walked outside by the man’s side. “We’re in a big blue van.” The man said.

“Okay, I see one around the corner at the end of the parking lot.” Reid said. As they approached the van, he began to get an uneasy feeling… there was no driver… “Who drove you?” Reid asked.

“My nephew. He’s not there, is he?!”

“No, sir.”

“Probably went to get a coffee.” Mr. Dalton chuckled. Reid glanced back at the coffee shop that was in the same strip center as Dr. Wolfgang’s practice. There were several people inside. “He won’t be long. Just help me get Brandywine in and you can go back inside where it’s warm.”

“… How did you know I’m cold?” Reid asked.

“It’s snowing, boy!” the man laughed. “I didn’t hear you leave the room or make any sound like you were putting on a jacket!!!” 

“Oh.” Reid said, relaxing slightly.

“… And your teeth are chattering.” 

Reid groaned, and Dalton laughed louder. “Just pop open the back doors.” Reid did as he was told. Inside was a large dog crate. Brandywine leapt into the van and lay down on the blanket that sat beside the crate. Reid blinked. 

“Um, she just—“ He turned and froze, staring into Dalton’s steel gray eyes, that were staring straight into his own… and into the barrel of a gun. 

“Keep your mouth shut and get into the crate.” Dalton hissed in a low voice. 

Reid’s eyes widened, his heart pounding. “W-What?”

“Get in. Now.”

“N-No… please…” Reid gasped, fear seeping through his every vein… his mind flashed to being locked in a dog crate on the deck of Coronado’s ship that summer…

“Unless you wanna die cold in the snow, choking on your own blood…” And Dalton pressed the gun into Reid’s thin chest. Slowly, Reid obeyed, climbing into the dog crate in the back of the car. Dalton closed the door behind him and latched it shut, then tossed a tarp over the crate. Reid listened as the driver’s door opened and the man hopped in, pulling on a different colored jacket and removing his wig of graying hair, revealing light brown hair. The engine turned on, and they pulled away…

Ten minutes later, a very tense Derek Morgan walked through the parking lot, looking for Reid.

“… Hotch… he’s not out here…” He spoke into his phone, turning this way and that. “No! I walked the back alley out behind the building, there’s nothing there! Reid is GONE, man!!! The blind guy… I don’t think he was blind, man! I think he was smart enough to fake it! Reid is NOT HERE!!!”

And within half an hour, the Crime Scene Investigators were on the scene… but with so many footprints in the snow of that shopping center, there wasn’t much to find.

“I have them walking off camera…” Garcia told Morgan on the phone. “And I lost them… there are no camera’s showing over there.”

“Where, baby girl?” 

“Left side of the building, past the post office.” Garcia said. “That’s the only blind spot, except for the back alley.”

“So this guy knew it. He checked this place out before hand…” Morgan murmured. “Thanks Garcia.” And he hung up. “Hotch!” He jogged over to the man, seeing the silent panic behind his eyes. “Reid and Dalton went past the post office. There’s a blind spot in the video surveillance. Garcia loses them after that. He must have scouted this location out before coming.”

Hotch just nodded, watching a CSI dusting for prints on the outside handle of the door to the vet clinic. Emily was inside doing a cognitive interview with the receptionist, and Rossi with Dr. Wolfgang. JJ was handling the press that had showed up on the heels of the Crime scene team.

“This guy doesn’t hurt them at first, Hotch.” Morgan reminded his boss. “We’ll find him.”


	3. Chapter 3

VERMONT

4:45 PM

Reid huddled against the side of the dog crate for the warmth that was being provided by Brandywine, leaning against the plastic. Still he shivered, and his breath misted in the cold air, and he was struggling on and off with not letting himself fall into a flashback of being locked up in a dog crate. 

He didn’t know how long the car ride was… several hours, he knew. When they finally arrived, the tarp was thrown off of the crate and he was staring at a gun again. “Get out.” The man he knew as Dalton said. Slowly, keeping his hands up, Reid obeyed. They were in a large yard surrounded by kennels. Dogs were barking… Big dogs… There were five pit bulls, two large Rottweilers, a blood hound, a St. Bernard, four huskies, two malamutes, a Belgian Malinois, a couple of various pointers, setters and spaniels, several hounds, an Old English Sheepdog and two large Neopolitan Mastiffs. The short haired dogs were all wearing sweaters… A large elkhound trotted around the corner of a house that sat at the end of the yard, and two dachshunds came with it. 

Dalton prodded Reid with the gun and guided him towards the house, chuckling as Reid winced when the dachshunds started barking at him. He was forced into the house and made to stand in the middle of the kitchen.

“… Strip.” The man ordered. Reid balked.

“W-What?!” 

“I said strip!”

“Mr. Dalton, please, I—“

“Morton.”

“… What?”

“My name is Morton. Now do as you’re told.”

“No! I… I’m not doing that! AH!” He yelped as the man struck him in the head with the butt of the gun.

“Look, either you can strip yourself, or I’ll let the dogs rip your clothes off. And you’ll get a bit ripped up in the process.” Reid stared at the man, then slowly obeyed, taking of his clothes until he stood naked and shivering. Morton seized his arms dragged him over to a door. He opened it and flung Reid through. Reid cried out as the floor disappeared and he plunged down a set of stairs and into darkness. He hit the ground hard and lay there groaning, gasping for breath and fighting back flashbacks of Coronado AND Shane Harvey… After a few minutes, he opened his eyes. A single night light showed that he was in a small basement, and there was a pile of old blankets on the floor against the wall. It was there that he moved, shivering.

Then the door at the top of the stairs opened, and the man walked down. Trotting at his side was a massive German Shepherd Dog. Reid’s eyes widened and he slowly moved back against the wall, heart pounding against his ribcage. The victims had been torn apart by dogs… was this beast the one that had done the killing?

“Blitz, Achtung!” Morton commanded, and the dog stared up at him. Then, the man pointed at Reid. “Pass Auf!” And the dog turned and STARED at Reid. Then the man turned and left the basement. And left Reid and the dog staring at each other. Slowly the dog, Blitz, lay down. Reid gulped and just sat there, shivering in both cold, and fear. When the dog sighed, Reid nearly jumped out of his skin. 

Slowly Reid curled up, hugging his knees to his chest and staring back at the dog. After a long stretch of time, the dog lowered his head to rest it on his paws. After a while longer, the dog closed his eyes and sighed. Reid perked up. Slowly, he shifted. But the dog’s ears twitched and his eyes flashed open. Reid froze, eyes wide. Then, slowly, he began to uncurl. The dog lifted his head and stared.

“Um… nice doggy?” Reid offered in a tiny voice. The dog cocked his head. Slowly, Reid moved to stand.

“Woof!” The dog barked, a warning whuff of his lips. Reid froze again, then quickly sat down and curled up again. The dog wagged his tail and set his head down on his paws again, watching Reid. Reid realized with dismay that this dog had been set to guard him. And so, concluding that he wasn’t going anywhere any time soon, Reid curled up in the meager blankets and tried to stay warm in the bitter cold of the dark basement.

\--------

Reid was woken by the door to the basement opening, and loud cursing. A large ginger furball streaked down the stairs, and Reid’s captor howled, “FUCKING CAT!!!” Reid watched the cat dart past the dog, who wagged his tail, and hop onto a shelf, and from there, onto one of the wooden beams that ran across the basement ceiling. Then the cat sat there, lashing its tail and watching the man walk down the stairs.

“Kamikaze, one of these days, I’ll actually catch you… We’ll see how your attitude changes when I let the dogs tear you to pieces!” The man snarled, and the cat hissed in response. The man reached the bottom of the stairs. “Good boy, Blitz. Here’s your dinner.” He praised, and set down a bowl of something hot and steaming. The dog began to wolf down the food eagerly. Then Morton looked at Reid. Reid stared back, nervously. After a moment, Morton snorted and tossed something. Gasping slightly, Reid caught it. It was an egg salad sandwich, looking to be from a gas station. Reid made a face, but as Morton left the basement, he unwrapped it and ate it, not knowing when his next meal would be.

A few minutes later, the cat hopped down to the floor. It approached the large dog. The dog wagged its tail, touching noses with the cat, and then the cat sashayed its way over to Reid, who was still curled up and shivering in the meager blankets. The cat sniffed him, lashing its tail, and then bumped Reid’s hand with his head, purring. Reid blinked. The cat nudged his hand with its flat Persian face, and Reid began to pet it. The cat purred, arching its body into each and every touch. After a moment, Reid smiled and picked the cat up. The cat’s purring intensified and it cuddled up to Reid’s chest, rubbing his face on Reid’s cheek.

“Oh… You’re a nice boy!” Reid grinned, cuddling the cat. “Boy… right?” He checked. “Yup. Boy. Intact boy…” The cat purred louder. Reid grinned. But then, the dog whimpered. Reid looked at the dog. The dog was giving him a pathetic, wistful look, and he perked up and wagged his tail when Reid looked at him. Reid eyed the dog nervously and then looked away, burying his face into the cat’s thick fur. Then he lay down and curled up, the cat purring loudly, and drifted to sleep.

\----------

“Oh, that poor boy!” Wailed Ms. Snow, upon hearing that Reid had been abducted. 

“Well, Mark?” Ms. Partridge snapped. The sheriff stared at her. 

“What?”

“YOU brought him here. He’s YOUR responsibility. What are you going to do to make this right?!” She demanded, and the sheriff’s eyes nearly popped out of his skull.

“It’s alright.” Morgan said, stepping in. “This isn’t the first time we’ve had to recover a teammate like this.”

“This isn’t the first time we’ve had to recover THIS teammate.” Emily snorted, walking by.

“Oh, that poor little LAMB!!!” Ms. Snow cried, and began bawling in a startled Rossi’s chest.

“Well, Mark?!” Ms. Partridge demanded again. The panicked sheriff looked back and forth between the glaring Ms. Partridge and the wailing Ms. Snow.

“Let’s work on the profile.” Hotch announced, walking into the room and cutting right through the gathering of people, heading into the conference room. The profiler’s glanced around at one another, and followed. Mark quickly ran after them, hoping to escape Ms. Partridge.

“He’s organized.” Emily was saying as he entered. “He used a ruse to lure Reid out to his car, which was not within the vie of any security cameras.”

“We need to talk to the people at the other Vet Clinics, see if they had a man who did something similar with the other victims…” Morgan said.

“None of the other Clinics saw a female Golden Retriever that day.” JJ pointed out.

“Of course not.” Rossi said, lifting his head slightly. “He’s organized and covers his tracks. We’ve established from the bites that he has numerous dogs. He probably uses a different dog each time.”

“And since he’s smart enough to do that, he probably wouldn’t use the ruse of being blind more than once, either.” Emily groaned, rubbing her eyes.

“No, he wouldn’t.” Hotch agreed.

“But… what is he DOING with these people?!” JJ demanded, desperation in her tone.

“I think the answer to that is staring us in the face…” Rossi sighed. “He’s taking Vet Techs. What else would they be useful for except…”

“… Providing medical care for animals.” Morgan finished. “That has to be it. We know this guy has a lot of dogs…”

“Maybe he’s kidnapping these people because he can’t afford their veterinary care?” JJ offered.

“He’s kidnapping and murdering people because he’s cheap?” Mark asked, skeptically.

“It’s much deeper than that. He’s a psychopath.” Hotch said. “Probably reclusive. Probably has some social disorders or anxieties… He lives out in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of dogs as his only companions.”

\----------

Reid looked up as the door to the basement opened.

“Blitz!” Called Morton. “Hier!” The German Shepherd leapt to his feet and bounded up the stairs. Then Morton descended. He looked at Reid when he reached the floor and then tossed him something. Reid gasped and caught the fabric. They were clothes.

“Get dressed.” The man said. “It’s cold outside. Come upstairs when you’re ready. Don’t make me come down at get you myself.” And then he turned and went back up into the house. Reid swallowed and did as he was told, slowly shuffling up the stairs once he was fully dressed. Morton was waiting. He offered Reid a coat that would swallow his slender frame, and boots that were much too big. After hesitating a moment, Reid took them.

“Let’s go.” Morton said, and Reid followed him outside. Judging by the light, it was now mid morning. Morton led Reid over to one of the dog runs. Inside was Rottweiller.

“Got into it with a damned raccoon last night.” Morton sighed, and Reid looked over the dog’s face, which as all scratched up. “… Fix him. Do good, and I’ll feed ya.” And then he thrust a tackle box into Reid’s hands, opened the gate and shoved him in before locking it behind him… trapping Reid with the dog. The dog had lifted his head and was growling at Reid, tilting his ears back. Eyes wide, Reid backed up until he was against the gate, clutching the tackle box in his shaking fingers.

“Don’t be a sissy, boy!” Morton snapped. Reid twitched slightly, then slowly stepped forward. Eyes never leaving the dog, Reid slowly knelt and sat the box down, then held out his slightly closed fist. 

“Hey there…” He murmured softly. “Good dog… C’mere…” The dog growled low, but leaned forward, sniffing. Then he got to his feet and tentatively crept forwards, snuffling. Reid fought not to flinch when the cold nose touched his hand, almost waiting for his hand to be bitten off. But the dog just kept sniffing. Slowly, Reid opened his fingers and turned his hand palm up, and scratched at the underside of the dog’s chin. And the growling stopped. The dog eyed him as he scratched at his chin, and then over his cheek and jaw. 

“Good boy…” Reid said, and the dog’s ears perked and he wiggled his stump of a tail slightly. Reid smiled and made a kissing noise. The dog’s ears perked even more and he moved closer, wagging his tail nub.

“There, you see?” Morton snorted. “You ain’t useless. Now get to work.” And he turned and walked away. Reid blinked, and lifted his other hand to pet the dog, who was now relaxing.

“You’re a good boy, aren’t you…” Reid glanced at the tag on the dog’s collar. “Rocky. Can you sit?” the dog sat. “Good boy!” Reid praised, and moved to open the tackle box. A good amount of medical supplies were there, and he grabbed some gauze and a wound cleansing scrub, soaking the gauze in the blue liquid. And then he began to carefully clean the dog’s cuts, before slathering a white healing ointment over them. This was a bit difficult, as the dog decided halfway through this step that he had to give Reid’s face a thorough washing with his large tongue.

When Morton returned, he found his captive sitting calmly on the floor, the dog’s head in his lap. Reid looked up at the man and smiled.

“He’ll b-be okay…” He managed to get out between his chattering teeth. “He’s a n-n-nice dog…”

“… He is.” Morton said, and this time, he offered Reid a smile in return. Reid blinked, surprised. “Come on. Before you freeze to death.” Reid nodded and stood, scratching the dog behind the ears. Then he walked out of the cage. Morton turned to walk back to the house, but Reid stepped into his path.

“My name is Spencer.” He said, and offered his hand. Morton eyed him. “And… you brought me here to… help care for your dogs. Right?” The man nodded. “You have a lot of them. You HAVE to have help.”

“We ain’t friends, boy.”

“I know.” Reid nodded. “If we were friends you, would have asked me to help you, instead of forcing me to help you.”

“Right… So why don’t you shut up and—“

“Will you show me the dogs I’m here to help you with?” Reid interrupted. “And do you have any records I can look over? So I know what I’m dealing with?” Morton looked baffled at that.

“… this way.” He said, and started walking in another direction. “Ain’t got no family.” He said, gruffly. “Ain’t got no friends. Just got my dogs. And that’s all I need.”

“They’re good companions.” Reid nodded. “Unconditional love, more loyalty and devotion than you’ll ever get from another person…”

“… You got a dog, boy?”

“No sir. I have two cats.”

“Feh… CATS.” The man snorted, and spat on the ground. Reid blinked. “Hate ‘em.”

“They aren’t for everyone.” Reid conceded. “But… you have one.”

“Not by choice.” The man laughed. “Kamikaze latched on to Blitzkrieg when he was a kitten… And Blitz took a likin’ to that damned cat, God knows why… Kaze won’t let me near him, but he won’t leave so long as Blitz is here.”

“Blitz is Schutzhund trained?”

“Yep. Trained in that, personal protection, and drug, firearm and cadaver detection as well as tracking, search and rescue.”

“That’s impressive.”

“It’s what them dogs were meant to do. So that’s what I have him do!”

“And your other dogs?”

“Same.” The man said, stepping at some of the kennels. The hounds, pointers, spaniels and setters housed there were baying loudly. “These dogs were bred to track and hunt, so that’s what they do! I take ‘em out hunting!” He moved further down the kennels. “The Mastiffs, Rotties and Dobie’s are guard dogs, so they guard!”

“And the Pits?” Reid asked, looking at the Pit Bulls with a sick feeling in his gut. “Pits were bred as fighters.”

“They were.” Morton nodded, looking angry. “But it ain’t right… settin’ dog on dog like that…” He walked over to the Pits and they began bouncing up and down eagerly, wagging their tails. “they’re trained to attack… trained to kill… but only if I tell them too. Otherwise… they’re the damned sweetest dogs ever.”

“Why train them to kill?” Reid asked. “Pits aren’t killing machines, but training them to be killing machines only perpetuates the myths AND the facts that give them their bad reputation.”

“For my own protection, as well as theirs.” And Morton turned and stared Reid in the eye. “You’d do well to learn that… You try anything and you’ll feel their teeth. ALL forty eight of them.” And he waved an arm around to indicate every dog there.

“You… You take these dogs… these innocent dogs…” Reid gasped, “and you teach them to kill?!” He looked at the large Elkhound trotting across the yard, innocent as can be, and Blitz sitting on the doorstep, Kamikaze beside him.

“They’re safe here.” Morton said. “From the cruelty and neglect of men. I taught them to fight like hell for themselves… to keep this safe haven safe. And if you try to escape… to reveal me… THEM…” He turned and pointed to the hounds. “They will track you. And I will be right behind… THEY will bring you down…” And he pointed to the Belgian Malinois and to Blitz. “And THEY…” And he pointed to the Pits. “Will end you. They all know what the others can do. They’re a pack, and each dog has his job. They will work as a Unit, and you won’t stand a chance.”

“That’s how the others died.” Reid stated, eyes wide in horror.

“When they tried to get away or outlived their usefulness… yeah.” Morton snorted. “So… Care to try and run?”

“I’m good, thanks.” Reid said, softly.

“Smart move. Now get the hell back into the house.”

“Look, I—“ but Reid as cut off when Morton let out a shrill whistle. He froze as the dogs grew silent… and then the dachshunds charged around the house, barking. And then came a Border Collie. The black and white dog charged straight for Reid. Reid stumbled back, eyes wide, and the dog darted around him, cutting him off. Reid backed away. The dog had its head down in concentration, staring at Reid. Reid swallowed thickly as the dog slowly followed him. Then the dog barked and charged. Reid yelped and ran. The dog darted around, cutting him off again, and then nipped at his heels. And Reid soon realized that the dog was HERDING him back to the house! And so he went, the dog following. But Blitz was still on the doorstep… Kamikaze was gone. Reid stood there between the Border Collie and Blitz, looking back and forth between them. Blitz cocked his head and whined, then turned and slipped into the house through the dog door. 

Chuckling, Morton walked past Reid and opened the door. “Do I need to have her follow you all the way to the basement?” He asked.

“N-No. That’s okay.” Reid panted. 

“Then GIT.” Morton ordered, and Reid scampered into the house. “Good girl.” Morton told the Collie, and followed Reid. “Now strip down and get back down there.”

“You don’t have to take my clothes… I… I won’t try to run.”

“Well, now, I’m glad to hear that. But I’m not taking any chances. Now STRIP!!!”

Trembling, Reid did as he was told, though only because he knew that none of the other victims had been assaulted sexually… And he was grateful for that. Once naked, Morton shoved a bag into his hands and then sent him back down into the frigid basement, Kamikaze in front of him and Blitzkrieg on his heels. Reid headed to his pile of blankets on the floor and curled up within them, smiling when the cat joined him. Then the door was closed and locked, and he was alone with the dog and cat. He peered into the paper sack. Inside was a sandwich, an apple, a small bag of Doritos and a can of YooHoo Chocolate Milk… or what was supposed to be milk. Reid made a face, but ate what he had been given without complaint. He hadn’t eaten since the egg salad sandwich the previous night, and he didn’t know when he would eat next…


	4. Chapter 4

Wendy Millhiser glanced up from her knitting as the news announced a special broadcast. She peered over the frames of her glasses at the blonde on the television.

“Good evening.” The blonde said to the viewers. “I’m Agent Jennifer Jareau with the FBI, and we are here in your area investigating a series of murders.”

“Turn it up.” Rumbled her husband beside her.

“Are you wearing your hearing aid?” Wendy demanded.

“It’s in the bathroom.”

“Joe… If you don’t have the sense to wear it, you don’t deserve to hear.” Wendy said shortly.

“I don’t like wearing it.”

“And that’s why we have the closed captioning. Just read that.”

“—new victim was abducted yesterday afternoon from this location,” the blonde was saying, and a map appeared on the screen, “from a Veterinary Hospital.” Then a picture appeared of a man wearing sun glasses and a baseball cap. “This is a sketch of suspect--”

“Not like you can tell what he looks like.” Grunted Joe.

“Shh! I’m listening.” Wendy said.

“Read the closed captioning.” Her husband snapped smartly.

“Just because you can’t hear and you’re too stubborn to wear your hearing aid doesn’t give you the right to take it out on me.” Wendy snapped, shooting a glare at her husband.

“—driving a dark colored van, and has a female Golden Retriever named Brandywine. However, evidence has led us to believe that this man has a large number of dogs of various breeds.”

“That guy down the street’s got a lot of dogs.” Wendy said, pursing her lips.

“He don’t drive a van. And they’re all little dogs. They couldn’t tear someone apart… not like those bodies were.” Joe reasoned.

“—do not approach him, just call the local authorities or the number on your screen to reach the FBI tip line. And to the man who has taken Spencer Reid, please… We know that you don’t want to hurt him, and you didn’t want to hurt the others. It’s not too late for you to make this right. Please, turn yourself in and let Mr. Reid go. His family misses him.”

“Oh… he looks like a nice young man.” Mused Wendy, looking at the picture of the kidnap victim, with a big goofy grin on his face. Joe just grunted and changed the channel.

\----------

“He has an ear infection.” Reid said looking at Morton, a Bloodhound between them. “Common in these dogs with floppy ears like this.”

“So what do I do?” Morton asked, looking genuinely concerned for his dog.

“Need to get a medication for it.” Reid sighed. “But I have to know what KIND of infection it is. Bacterial, fungal, or both.”

“How do you tell?”

“You have to take a sample of the debris from the ear and check it under a microscope.” Reid told him. Morton frowned. 

“That’s the only way?”

“Yessir.” Reid said.

“Can’t we just… treat for both? Just in case?”

“We CAN…” Reid said reluctantly. “But that kind of medication is prescription. You have to get it from a Vet.”

“You can get anything online if you know where to look.” Morton snorted. “Just give the name of the medication.”

Reid sighed and nodded. “Do you have paper? They can be hard to spell…” Morton jerked his head and Reid followed him back to the house, where Morton gave him a piece of paper and a sharpie marker. Reid scribbled down a couple of names. Morton nodded.

“Anything else?” Reid asked.

“Yeah.” Morton nodded, and back outside they went. Morton took Reid over to a run with a female Pit Bull inside.

“Delilah’s nail, you see?” He said, and Reid knelt, peering in.

“The far left claw there?” Reid asked.

“Yep.”

“Yeah… I see that. It’s curled around and grown into the pad?”

“Yep. I can’t get it myself.”

“Okay. Can you hold her for me?” Reid asked, looking up at Morton. Morton nodded, and handed Reid a pair of nail clippers and they stepped into the run. Morton knelt and wrapped his arms around the dog, one around her neck and the other around her chest. Reid lifted her paw and she whined, wagging her tail nervously.

“Shhh… good girl, Delilah. It’s okay.” Morton soothed. Reid glanced up at the man as he kissed the dog’s ear. 

“You really love them.” He said, and Morton looked at him. Reid just smiled, then turned his attention back onto the paw. “Okay, here it comes.” Reid said, and Morton tightened his hold. Reid clipped and the dog yelped, struggling and thrashing. Morton cursed as her head smacked into his own.

“Hold her!” Reid commanded, already seizing the little bottle of styptic powder, pinching out a bit and packing it into the bleeding toenail where he had cut the quick. The dog slowly calmed, and Reid made a sympathetic face as he pulled the claw from the pad of her paw. Blood and pus oozed. “Keep holding, I need to clean this. It’s infected… She’ll need antibiotics and some pain meds.”

“I got some of that.” Morton nodded. “Rimadyl?”

“Yeah. That will work.” Reid nodded. “How much does she weigh?”

“About sixty eight, I think?” Morton said, then shushed the whining dog as Reid cleaned and disinfected the wound, and then began to wrap a bandage around her paw.

“Okay.” Reid nodded. “One 75 mg tablet twice a day.” He said. “For three to five days.”

“Antibiotics?”

“Let me look through what you have.” Reid said, blinking as he got a cold nose in the eye from the curious dog, who seemed to have forgiven him. He squeaked when she stuck her tongue into his ear.

“She likes ya.” Morton chuckled, loosening his hold on the dog.

“She’s being REALLY good for me.” Reid said.

“She’s a good dog.” Morton replied.

“Done. Do you have e-collars?”

“I hate those things!!! Why the hell does she gotta—“

“So she doesn’t rip off the bandage, lick the wound and make the infection worse.” Reid said calmly. Morton glared at him, but then sighed.

“Alright, alright…” He groaned, and Reid nodded. The pair then stood and headed out. “this way.” Morton said, and Reid followed. There was a small shed against the side of the house, and they stepped in. Reid’s eyes widened. 

“… Wow…” He breathed. “You have an entire veterinary pharmacy in here!!!”

“Feed store, mostly.” Morton grumbled. “I don’t know what they all are… so they’re in alphabetical order.” Reid nodded and stepped up the shelves, scanning the contents. 

“Here. This one. Give her two tablets twice a day with the Rimadyl for the next week.” Reid said, handing the bottle to Morton. “Give it with food.” Morton nodded. “Anyone else I need to look at?”

“… I don’t think so.” Morton said.

“I noticed that your Elkhound has a limp?” Reid offered.

“She’s arthritic.” Morton said as they left the shed, and the man locked it up again. Reid followed him back to the door and into the house. “Alright. Strip.”

“… Do I really have to?” Reid asked in a small voice. Morton gave him a look, and so Reid sighed and obeyed. Morton stuffed his blood spattered clothes into the washing machine, then pointed to another door. Reid blinked.

“Bathroom.” Morton said. “Get yourself washed up. I’ll have your lunch ready when you’re through.” Reid blinked, then nodded and stepped into the bathroom. There was a basic functional toilet in the basement, but no other facilities, so the prospect of a hot shower was more than welcome. 

Reid turned on the water, and as soon as it was warm, he stepped in. He wanted to linger, but he didn’t want to risk angering his captor, so he was quick and efficient, and when he emerged from the bathroom, Morton handed him a thermos and a bag before sending him down the basement with Blitz and the “fucking cat”. Reid found a bottle of water, an apple and a peanut butter sandwich in the bag, and the thermos, to his delight, contained hot pea soup, courtesy of Campbell’s. The cat sniffed over all of this, then flipped his tail and slunk off to hunt for mice.

Blitz, on the other hand, watched Reid with sharp attention and a quivering nose. He crept closer. Reid froze, eying the large dog. The dog perked his ears and wagged his tail. Reid looked away and bit into the apple. The dog whined. Reid looked at him… the dog was about a foot closer… Reid frowned, watching the dog wag his tail again, and then lick his lips. Reid went to open his water bottle. When he looked up, the dog had shuffled closer again, and was still wagging his tail. 

“What do you want?” Reid asked. The dog licked his lips and wagged his tail harder, then whined. “What?!” Reid demanded, and the dog stood and trotted over. Reid froze, heart pounding in fear of the big dog, who almost weighed as much as he did. The dog sniffed him, then turned to sniff the sandwich. Gulping nervously, Reid tore off a piece and offered it. The dog leaned over and daintily took the piece from Reid’s fingers, gobbling it down while aging his tail eagerly.

Reid eyed the dog, biting into the apple again. The dog just stared at him, wagging his tail. Reid sighed and gave him another piece. The dog seemed delighted.

“… Good boy.” Reid said carefully, and the dog wagged his tail, happily. Slowly, Reid smiled. And then, cautiously, he reached out. The dog blinked, then thrust his muzzle into Reid’s hand, licking his fingers. Reid’s smile widened, and he began to pet the dog. After a few pettings, Blitz lay down and relaxed, tail still wagging. The cat trotted over and touched noses with the dog, then made himself comfortable in Reid’s blankets, purring loudly. The dog rested his head on his paws and closed his eyes, tail falling still. Reid finished his food, giving Blitz the last bite of the sandwich, and then curled up, surprisingly warm with the two animals curled up with him. Blitz sniffed his head, and then closed his own eyes again.

It was nap time.

\-------

“Okay.” JJ said, and the team looked at her as she walked in. “I’ve got the story on the first seven victims.” The team sat down, with the sheriff and several deputies listening in.

“Victim number one… A man came in with an Elkhound who was limping. The victim went out to his car with him to help him lift the dog into the car. Elkhounds are BIG. He used the same ruse with number two, only with a Rottweiler. Number three he brought in a husky and her litter of puppies. The victim carried the basket of puppies out to the car for him. Number four helped him out to the car because he had brought in all the puppies, SEVEN of them, for heartworm tests. Number five helped him out to the car with a Bloodhound… the UnSub had his arm in a sling. Number six was lured out to the car because a man came in, WITHOUT a dog, said he had been shopping and when he got to his car, he heard meowing coming from under the hood, and thought a cat had crawled up in there.”

“And the victim bought it?” Morgan asked

“It happens.” Emily offered with a shrug.

“Number seven, he brought in a dog… ended up euthanizing and said he wanted to bury the dog himself. The victim carried the dog out to the car for him.” JJ sighed.

“… He’s good. Only repeated his technique twice.” Rossi nodded.

“He’ll run out of ruses eventually.” Mark pointed out.

“We don’t want to give him a chance to think of another.” Hotch scowled. “If he needs another ruse, it will be because we failed to catch him before…” He trailed off.

“It will be because he needs a new victim.” Rossi said, grimly. The team was silent for a moment, and then every jumped, startled as Ms. Snow (who they didn’t know was there) burst into tears and began blubbering about that “poor boy” again. The young deputy beside her stared at her, aghast, then awkwardly put an arm around her. She began to wail into his chest, and he shot the sheriff a terrified look as he tried to comfort her. Mark just offered him a little smile and shrug.

“All of the veterinarians are coming in to be interviewed, weather permitting. Two of them will be unable to make it until the roads a bit more clear of snow.” JJ said.

“Good.” Hotch nodded. “I want to set them up with sketch artists, see if we can get a better picture of this guy so we can try to identify him. I also want to do cognitive interviews with all of them.”

“Right.” JJ nodded. “The first one will be here within the hour.”

“Prentiss, speak with him when—“

“Her.”

“—she arrives.” Hotch said, correcting himself mid-sentence on JJ’s prompting.

“If he’s treating all of these dogs, won’t he need supplies?” Mark asked.

“Yes.” Hotch said. “Morgan, call Garcia. Have her look into large or unusual orders of veterinary supplies being sent to this area, but not TO a veterinarian. Start… a year before the first victim was abducted.”

“Got it.” Morgan said, sitting down before the laptop.

“Dave.”

“Yeah?”

“How do you feel about your geographic profiling?”

“Uhhhh… not on REID’S level, that’s for sure.”

“I’ll help you.” Hotch said, turning to look at a map of Vermont and the surrounding states. “Morgan, also have Garcia look into people who live out in remote areas that would allow them to keep so many dogs without being noticed. Have her fax me the information.”

“Got it, Hotch.” Morgan said.

“JJ.”

“Yes?”

“I want you to begin to prepare a new press release for when we get an update sketch of this guy. And… we’re going to release more information about Reid…”

“What kind of information…?”

“Release to the public that he’s an only child, and his mother is ill and hospitalized. I want you to release that she needs him, not only because he is her only child, but that he works to pay for her care. Hopefully, we can appeal to the UnSub that way…”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” JJ asked.

“… This man doesn’t hurt his victims until the end when he kills them. And even then, he uses his dogs to do it. He doesn’t get his hands dirty. I don’t think he WANTS to hurt them… he may even care about them. If we humanize Reid to him more than I’m sure Reid is trying to do himself, the better his chances.”

“Alright.” JJ nodded, and settled in to do just that.

“Do you think it will work?” Rossi asked Hotch.

“I don’t think it will HURT.” Hotch admitted. “But any help we can give to Reid, no matter how small or remote, is something.”

“Alright then.” Rossi nodded, picking up Reid’s package of markers that he used when making a geographical profile. “Let’s do this.”


	5. Chapter 5

Reid sat lounging on his back, wrapped up in blankets on the floor of the basement. The cat was prowling off in the dark corners somewhere, and the dog was lying by Reid. Reid looked at him. The dog wagged his tail, perking his ears. Reid smiled, reaching out and petting the dog, who wagged his tail harder.

“So you’re Schutzhund trained, hm?” Reid asked, as if the dog would answer. “I’ve read about that, you know. I remember the words, but I’m not sure on how to pronounce all of them… Achtung!” the dog immediately jerked his head up and stared at Reid with a deep intensity, ears up and tail stiff. He sat there completely motionless, not even blinking. Reid blinked, then sat up with a smile.

“… Gib laut!” He commanded, and the dog barked. Reid jumped, eyes wide, then grinned. “Sitz!” The dog moved up into a sitting position. “Platz!” The dog lay down again. “… Awesome.” Reid chuckled. “Good boy!” the dog wagged his tail, lolling his tongue out of his mouth with a pleased look on his face. Reid scratched his ears and the dog licked his wrist. 

Then, the dog turned and looked up the stairs as the door opened.

“What’s going on down there!” Morton commanded.

“Nothing.” Reid called back.

“I heard Blitz barking!”

“He was barking at the cat!”

“Oh.”

“Is it dinner time?” Reid called.

“… Yeah, I’ll make it soon.”

“Can I go to the bathroom?”

“Before dinner.”

“… Can I have a tennis ball?”

“What the hell do you want that for?”

“It’s boring down here. I thought I might throw it for the dog.” Reid reasoned. A moment later, Morton walked down the stairs, looking at Reid in surprise and confusion.

“You… wanna play ball with Blitz?”

Reid shrugged. “Why not? I’m bored, he’s bored…”

“… Huh. Well… alright. I’ll find a ball.”

“It’s cold down here. Can I at least get some clothes?”

“… No.”

“Please? Just some underwear?”

“… Fine.” Morton snorted, and Reid smiled.

“Thank you.”

“… You’re welcome.” Mortin mumbled and shuffled away. 

He returned that evening, and this time Reid was allowed to come out of the basement. Morton let him use the restroom and bathe, and then gave him some clothes before allowing him to sit at the kitchen table. Dinner was a frozen lasagna, and they watched Animal Planet in silence as they ate.

After dinner, Reid was again stripped naked before he was sent back down into the basement. He was given a bottle of water… and a tennis ball. Blitz followed him down into the basement, and Kamikaze darted down before them. Morton allowed Reid to get a camping lantern off of a shelf before he turned off the light and locked the agent into the basement for the night.

Reid turned on the lantern and made his way to the pile of blankets on the floor where the cat was already waiting. Blitz sat down at the base of the stairs and stared at the cat and the man. Reid stared back at the dog. After a moment, he tentatively lifted his hand and made a soft clicking noise with his tongue. The dog lifted his head up off of his paws and perked his ears.

“C’mere…” Reid called softly, snapping his fingers a bit. The dog wagged his tail, then stood and trotted over, sniffing at the outstretched fingers, and then licking at them. As the man moved to pet his head and ears, he sat down and let his tongue roll out of his mouth, panting in his joy. Reid smiled.

“Good boy…” He praised, and the dog wagged his tail harder. Then Reid pulled out the tennis ball. “Wanna play?” The dog froze, eyes fixed on the ball. Reid blinked, then turned and threw it across the basement. The dog surged forwards, crossing the basement in three great bounds, and caught the ball. He trotted back to Reid, dropped it on the blankets and then sat down, wagging his tail. 

Reid grinned, picking up the ball and throwing it again, the dog charging after it. The cat watched for a few minutes in silent boredom, then buried himself into the blankets to sleep. Reid threw the ball a few more times before deciding that the cat had the right idea.

He gave the dog another scratch behind the ears, and then joined the cat in the blankets. The dog snuffled his ear, making him squeal and laugh, swatting at him, and then with a woof and a playful bounce, the dog circled the pile of blankets before curling up next to it. The lantern was turned off, and human, canine and feline surrendered to sleep…

\------

Morton woke them at dawn, tossing some clothes down the stairs with a command for Reid to dress and come up for breakfast. Reid obeyed and hurried up the stairs. Morton had made him eggs and toast.

“I’m running low on meat.” He announced gruffly. “I’m gonna have to go out and get more.”

“At the store, or…?” Reid asked, slowly.

“Why buy it when I can kill it myself, fresh?” Morton asked, and Reid winced. “I’ll be takin some of the dogs with me. You are gonna take care of the others while I’m gone. Food is in the bins in the shed to the south end of the compound. Instructions are on the wall. Get them all fed and watered. And don’t bother trying anything. They know you’re not allowed to leave. You try anything, and you’ll feel their teeth!” Reid gulped, eyes wide. He nodded quickly. "Clean their runs, make sure their blankets and bedding are clean. There’s two washing machines and two driers in the shed, too.”

“Okay.” Reid nodded.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Morton said, and Reid nodded again, finishing his breakfast and pulling on the snow boots he had been given. He followed Morton out to the yard and stared. An old wooden dog sled was all set up, the huskies already in their harnesses and calmly lying on the snow. When they saw Morton appear, they all got to their feet, tails wagging eagerly. The Elkhound trotted over and Morton gave her a pat on the head. 

“No, Hilda. Sorry, girl.” He sighed. “Not with your arthritis… not in all this cold snow. Wait ‘til summer…” then he turned and let out a shrill whistle, and several hounds came charging around the corner of the house, baying. Reid jumped, flinching at the loud dogs. But then he quirked an eyebrow… they were all wearing sweaters and little booties…

Morton slung a hunting rifle onto his back and opened the gate. Reid’s heart leapt as he stared out the gate… stared at freedom…

“Blitz!” Morton called. “Angel! Bonnie! Rocky!” Blitz, the Belgian Malinois and the two Rottweillers looked at the man. He grabbed Reid by the collar and shook him slightly. “Pass auf!” He commanded. The two sweater-clad Rottweiler’s wagged their tail nubs, and watched as the hounds and huskies charged out of the gate. Morton looked at Reid as he followed, then closed the gates behind him. Reid sighed as he heard them locking. Then he heard the baying of the hounds, the yodeling of the huskies and a loud “MUSH!!!” And then he heard them leaving. He sighed and turned… and found all of the dogs staring at him. The Rotties were already growling. Reid gulped and hurried towards the shed, opening the door and walking in.

Inside there was a wall that was covered in large food containers, and near it was a large chalk board displaying everything…

Kennel No. 1: Belladonna, 2.5 cups Twice daily from Bin 5. Reid sighed again, and in thirty two seconds memorized all the instructions and got to work, picking up the dishes and beginning to fill them and deliver them to the dogs. A couple of dogs growled and snarled at him, and one tried to rip his arm off, but most of the dogs were beyond thrilled to see him approach with their breakfast. He refilled all of the water dishes and began to pull out soiled bedding and take it to the washing machines before cleaning the runs and providing fresh bedding in each dog’s little indoor den.

It was hard. It was filthy. It was smelly. It was exhausting. But he worked diligently, Blitz trotting back and forth across the yard with him on each trip. Reid found a tennis ball by the shed, so he took to throwing it for Blitz every time he made a trip across the compound. When all the dogs in the runs had been fed, Reid brought two bowls to the Rottweilers guarding the gates. The dogs stood and snarled at his approach, but he cautiously knelt about six feet in front of the male and lay down the dish. Then he backed away before moving to the female and doing the same. After he had backed away from the gates another fifteen feet, the dogs quieted and sniffed, before creeping forwards to inspect, and then eat, their food.

Reid then fed the large Elkhound, the Belgian Malinois, and finally Blitz. He sat beside the dog stroking his long thick fur as he ate, and the wagged his tail happily. And when Blitz was finished, Reid headed into the house to relieve himself.

He glanced at the clock and realized with a start that he had been working for nearly six hours! It was nearly two in the afternoon! He shook his head and went to the bathroom, then bathed and changed clothes. Then he found himself standing the in the kitchen, staring at the doorway that led to the rest of the house… He chewed his lip for a moment, then cautiously made his way through the door.

He found himself in a small cozy living room. And there was something growling. After his eyes had adjusted to the gloom, he saw the dachshund laying on the rug before the fireplace, where dying embers sat glowing. Reid sighed and smiled, then moved over to the bin that held the logs. The little dog watched as Reid stacked them into the fire place, balled up some old newspapers and shoved them into the embers. The papers caught fire and slowly, so did the logs. The dog stood, circled a couple of times, and then settled back down on the rug to soak up the heat, obviously quite pleased with the rebirth of the fire. Though he did snap at Reid when the agent tried to pet him. Reid took the hint and just warmed his hands by the fire, then turned and looked to the hallway on the other side of the room.

Slowly he walked into the darkness. There were three doors. One to his right, one to his left, and one right in front of him. He reached out and grasped the knock of the one to his left and pushed it open.

On the other side of the door was a bedroom. It had an old worn wood floor and pale blues walls. The bed was a dark brown wooden antique frame, and the bedspread was pale blue and lace, as were the curtains. Over the bed was an old ornate oval frame, the gilding on it cracked and flaking. And inside was a chalk portrait of a Silver miniature Schnauzer. An old antique dresser sat against the wall with a few lace doilies on it. There was a crystal vase holding a bouquet of dried flowers, two wooden boxes, and…. Several old photos. Slowly, Reid slipped into the room and approached the dresser, staring at the photos.

They were all very old, in black and white… and they all showed the same beautiful woman. Her dark eyes stared out of the frame from a flawless white face, dark painted lips turned up at the corner with a playful charm and great elegance. Her dark hair was neatly in place, and framed her face beautifully. In several photos, she had a little dog with her… a Schnauzer. It was obvious that she loved and doted on this dog… Reid turned his attention to one of the wooden boxes. It was an old Sorrento Music box, the inlaid wood creating the elegant, detailed image of a rose. Gently, Reid lifted the lid, and it began to play. He smiled. It was playing “Isle de Capris”. And inside the box was a locket… Reid bit his lip, then picked it up and opened it. Inside was a small lock of silvery white hair… and a tiny photo… of the schnauzer. The lock of hair much have belonged to the dog… 

He replaced the locket and closed the music box, cutting off the song, and went to the other box. The other box had a detailed carving of a Schnauzer on it, and the name ‘Lily’. Reid opened the box. And his eyes widened. 

Ashes. The box was filled with ashes. He quickly closed it and turned away. The ashes must have been from the Schnauzer… and the dog’s name was Lily. But who was the woman who owned Lily?

Reid left the room, suddenly feeling like he had just violated the sanctity of a grave… He stood in the hallway for a long time, then took a deep breath and entered the other room. This room must belong to his captor. There was a twin bed shoved into the corner, a small desk with an old computer, and several dog beds. Dirty socks and dog toys were all over the floor. Another Dachsund was on the bed, nestled down amongst the blankets. He began to growl. Another growl came from under the desk. There was another growling dachshund, and this one was nursing seven puppies, only about two weeks old…

Reid quickly left the room before the dogs got more agitated…

He went to the last door and opened it up…

And found another bathroom. He sighed and closed the door, then headed to the kitchen. He was hungry. 

He went into the pantry and got down a couple cans of tomato soup and began to prepare them on the stove. And just in time… he could hear the distant baying of hounds getting closer and closer… when the soup was finished, he opened the fridge and began to put together some cheese sandwiches, grilling them on the stove in a pan with a bit of butter.

The door slammed open and Morton stood there, looking murderous. Reid froze, eyes wide. But then Morton blinked.

“What are you doing?” He demanded.

“… Making lunch. I… I thought you would be cold and would like something to warm up with.” Reid offered softly, desperately trying to build some trust with his captor. “It… It’ll be ready in a minute?”

“… Warm some cinnamon applesauce to go with it. In the fridge. I’ll be back in a moment.” Morton said, and then stomped out. Reid almost collapsed in his relief.

\---------

“Agent Hotchner!” Hotch jumped at the firm tone behind him. He turned and blinked. Ms. Partridge stood there, GLARING at him over the frames of her glasses. She pointed to the table in the conference room where Hotch’s team and the Sherriff and his deputies were finishing up lunch. “I know you’re worried about your agent, but you need to eat. Now get in there and EAT!”

“Thank you, Ms. Partridge.” Hotch said, his tone just as firm. “But I’m not hungry.” And he turned and went back to staring at the window. But only a second later, the woman had taken his ear in a harsh pinch and jerked him away. 

“Was I asking, young man?!” She snapped, and everyone turned when they heard their Unit Chief yelp “OW!” They stared, eyes wide, as Ms. Partridge marched into the room, dragging Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner in by the ear like a misbehaving child, and made him sit. Then Ms. Snow put a plate of spaghetti in front of him.

“Eat.” Ms. Partridge ordered. Hotch just sat there, stunned. A moment later, he let out another “OW!” as the old woman nearly in her eighties smacked him in the back of the head. “EAT!!!” 

Scowling, Hotch picked up his fork and viciously stabbed a meatball, shoving it into his mouth and chewing. Morgan and JJ met amused looks, Rossi “coughed” loudly into his napkin and Prentiss, in trying to hold back her laughter, let out a very loud and un-lady like snort. And that got the whole team going.

“You all stop laughing like a pack of hyenas!” Ms. Partridge demanded. “Let the man eat!” And when they didn’t stop she cried “Out of here! ALL of you! Shoo! SHOO!!!” And she herded Hotch’s team out of the room and sent them to sit at the deputies’ desks until Hotch was finished eating. And only then would she allow the team back into the room to return to work.

And only a few minutes later, Garcia appeared on the screen of the laptop.

“I’ve got something!” She cried. “I think I’ve got something!!!” 

“Hey gorgeous.” Morgan said, moving over to the laptop and turning it to face the rest of the team.

“What did you find, Garcia?” Emily asked.

“Okay… so, I decided, just for the heck of it, to broaden my search. And I looked back further… Like… twenty years further.”

“That’s too young for the UnSub.” Rossi frowned.

“I know, but… I found something. Marsha and Darren Morton.” Two pictures appeared on the screen. “They had a little farm about fifty miles west of your location. And they had… a LOT of dogs. They were always getting loose, lots of complaints from the neighbors… they weren’t taking care of the dogs… none of them were vaccinated, they were all sick and malnourished… And then they died. Their house caught fire. They didn’t make it out.” Garcia said. “Their son, Donald Morton, took the dogs.”

“Where is he, Garcia?” Hotch asked, frowning.

“He’s… pretty off the grid, sir.” Garcia said, shuffling through papers. “I found out that when he was nine, his grandmother, a Charlotte Laney, took him to live with her because his parents were neglecting the dogs. Now, she had a lot of dogs too, but unlike Donald’s parents, she took REALLY good care of them. She bred and showed Schnauzer’s. My guess? He lives in her old house. I looked at his finances. About ten years ago, there are records of him buying a lot of construction supplies. Cement blocks, a couple of porta-sheds and chain link fencing… And… When I ran a search for large quantities of veterinary supplies being purchased by someone other than veterinarians, I found one… under the name Charlotte Morton…”

“Garcia, when Charlotte Laney pass away?” Hotch asked.

“… A few months before the first abduction.” Garcia said.

“That’s it.” Rossi said, nodding. “Donald Morton is our UnSub.”

“Garcia, where is his house?” Hotch asked.

“Well, sir… It’s halfway up a mountain… on a dirt road.”

“… It’s gonna be BURIED.” Emily groaned. They all turned when the sheriff chuckled.

“That, Agents, is what we have SnowMobiles for.” 

“The sheriff’s department has snow mobiles?” JJ asked, raising her eyebrows.

“No. The state doesn’t have that kind of money. But most of us own them personally. And if we ever need more, the locals are happy to loan them to us!” He said with a wide grin. “Who wants a ride?!”

“Well…” Rossi said slowly. “There’s a first time for everything.”

\------

Reid sighed as he finished drying the last dish, and put it away. Morton had been quiet and almost appreciative as they ate their late lunch. He went to take a hot shower afterwards, telling Reid to clean up. The shower had shut off a little while ago. Reid turned, wondering what he should do once he had finished cleaning up. And he froze. Morton stood in the doorway, eye blazing in a dangerous fury.

“… What did you do…” He hissed through clenched teeth. Reid tensed, eyes wide.

“W-What?” 

“When I was gone… what did you do?!”

“I… I did what you told me to do!” Reid gasped. “I fed the dogs and I—“

“In the HOUSE!!!” Morton barked, spittle flying from his lip. Reid gulped as he stood there, petrified.

“I… I went to the bathroom… and I showered… I uh… I put some logs in the fire place… then I started making lunch.”

“You’re lying…” Morton snarled, advancing on the young Agent. Reid began to back away, fear seizing him. “You went into Her room!”

“W-What?” Reid squeaked. He shook his head, wetting his lips. “I… I don’t know what you’re talk—“

“You TOUCHED the MUSIC BOX!!!”

“… I… what?”

“The song isn’t in the same place I left it!!! You opened it!!! The locket was moved!!! WHAT ELSE DID YOU TOUCH?!?”

“I… I…”

“Did you touch Lily?!?” Morton screamed, a rage in his eyes like nothing Reid had ever seen before. “Did you touch Her Lily?!”

“I… I looked at the pictures.” Reid whispered, desperately trying to find some way to calm the man down. “She… the woman… she was beautiful. Who is she?”

Morton lunged, letting out an animalistic roar. Reid yelped and bolted. Blitz perked up and watched as Reid darted out the door, Morton on his heels. He leapt up and followed, whining.

“ANGEL!!!” Morton screamed. “FASS!!!”

Reid sobbed, knowing exactly what that command meant… attack. He heard Angel charge across the compound, barking furiously. Reid didn’t know why he meant to run… there was nowhere to go… All the dogs were barking… it was deafening. Like the Hounds of Hell were rising from the Abyss to rip him apart. He stopped and turned to beg the man to call them off, but Angel was upon him. He fell to the ground with a cry of pain as he felt teeth sink into his arm.

“AAHNG!” He cried, wincing as she jerked him again and again and again, tail wagging eagerly as she did her job.

“You son of a bitch!” Morton screamed, storming across the compound towards the boy on the ground, blood dripping to the muddy snow. “How DARE you!?”

“I’m sorry!!!” Reid cried. “I’m sorry! You… you never said it was off limits! I didn’t know! I d-didn’t mean anything by it! I promise! Ahhn! Please! Help me! G-Get her off!”

“… Aus!” Morton commanded, and angel immediately let go of Reid’s arm and backed off. Whimpering, Reid drew his arm in close and cradled it. But then Morton seized the collar of his shirt and jerked him to his feet, whirling and slamming him up against the door to the run of a Mastiff. The dog tucked his tail in and fled through the little door into the interior building that half of the runs were in, to give the dogs warmth and shelter.

“Don’t you ever…” Morton hissed, shaking Reid. “Ever… EVER!!!” He barked into his face, and Reid flinched. “Go NEAR Her room again! DO YOU HEAR ME?!”

“Y-Yes!” Reid gasped, trembling in fear. “Yes, I hear you! I won’t! I promise! I’m sorry! Please! Please, I’m sorry!” But the rage didn’t fade. 

“If you do, I’ll fuckin’ KILL YOU!!!” Morton screamed, and Reid closed his eyes tightly and cried.

“I’m sorry!” He wailed. “Please forgive me!”

“Forgive you?!” The man spat. “FORGIVE YOU?!” And then he drew his arm back and buried his fist into Reid’s stomach. The boy doubled over with a loud “UHNF!” 

Blitz let out a series of angry, warning barks, baring his teeth. Morton turned and glared at the dog.

“Nein!!!” Morton commanded. Blitz growled. “Pfui!!!” Morton snapped, and Blitz cowered, growing silent and backing away. Morton turned back to Reid, pulled his fist back and then threw it again, slamming it into Reid’s soft belly another nine times… Then, when only his fist in the Agent’s shirt was keeping him on his feet, he brought his fist crashing across the boy’s face, catching his eye. The shirt ripped and Reid crashed to the ground. He writhed in pain, and then his body seized as he expelled the contents of his stomach in a spectacular display of projective vomit.

Morton didn’t wait for him to recover. When the boy was still coughing and gagging between sobs, he seized the back of his torn shirt and began to drag him across the yard. Blitz followed silently, ears back and tail tucked. Morton dragged Reid up the stairs, across the porch and into the kitchen, flinging open the door to the basement and hurling him down the stairs. Reid landed at the bottom with a broken cry.

“Pass Auf!” He vaguely heard Morton command, followed by a “Fucking kill you!!!”

“NYAAAO!!!” Came the angry yowl from the cat as he was kicked down the stairs. Blitz skittered down the stairs, eyes wide, ears back and tail tucked. Then the door was slammed closed and the lock turned. 

Reid groaned, holding his stomach as he felt blood mix with the taste of vomit in his mouth. Then, he heard the soft whine and a purr. It was dark… he couldn’t see… but a moment later a warm, soft body was rubbing against his shoulder, and a cold wet nose touched his cheek before a hot tongue began to lick away his tears. Slowly, Reid closed his eyed and began to relax. But then, he felt teeth scraping his shoulder. He tensed and gasped in fear, waiting for them to sink into his flesh!

But they didn’t… Blitz got a good grip on his shirt, and began to drag him across the room. Reid was confused. But as he felt himself being dragged onto the blankets, he calmed and realized that he shouldn’t be. Many dogs that had Blitz’s training were trained in protection, detection and search & rescue… He wondered what else this dog could do.

He reached out for the lantern and flicked it on, then slowly began to drag off his wet, muddy clothes. Once he was naked, he began to tear the ripped shirt into pieces. Then he picked up his unopened bottle of water and rinsed out his mouth, then poured some over his injured arm before using the cleanest strips of fabric he could find to wrap it with. Then he took a few small sips of water before burrowing his trembling body into the blankets, desperate for warmth. He closed his eyes and held back his sobs, refusing to break down. 

A moment later, Kamikaze crawled into the blankets and curled up against his stomach. Reid curled his body around the cat, and a moment later, Blitz curled up around him from behind. Reid sighed and slowly relaxed, the warmth coming from the animals helping to warm him. And then he fell asleep to the rhythmic sounds of the dog breathing, and the cat purring…


	6. Chapter 6

When the team arrived at the rendezvous point to meet the group to start heading up the mountain, they were impressed at the number of people and snowmobiles that were just… everywhere. In the thick of it all was the Sheriff, looking perfectly comfortable barking orders and shuffling people around.

“Brad, you ride up on Eric’s machine, you had one of that model, right? Okay, good! Sam! You comfortable operating Elizabeth’s snowmobile? Alright, Beth, you okay with Sam usin your—alright, thank you for bringin’ it out. Alex! You brought the sled! GREAT!!! Hook it up over there behind Maxine, alright? TEDDY!!! I SEE YOU THERE!!! Nice try, boy, but you ain’t comin’ with us. You gonna let us use the machine or not? Well fine. We can do without it. We’re not so desperate as to let YOU come along. Does your daddy know you’re here? No? Well, you can bet I’ll be givin’ him a call to let him know you tried to take his machine up the mountain on a police raid. I’m sure your mama will be thrilled to hear it. Off you go, now!”

He turned and grinned as he saw the Agents trudging up to him through the snow.

“We’re all ready to go!” He announced, cheeks shiny and red with the cold. “You folks bundled up? Great! We’re gonna pair you off with some deputies. You’ll ride behind them on the snow mobiles. We got a couple of sleds that we use for snow rescues to transport any injured, but if anyone gets hurt bad, we got a rescue chopper on standby in Montpelier. All these law enforcement and rescue personnel are experienced in operating these machines, so just put on your helmets and hold on tight! It’ll take about an hour and a half to reach the target area.”

The team just nodded silently, as the man had immediately run off, not giving them time to respond. They split up, each finding a lone deputy waiting with a helmet for them. Hotch climbed onto the snowmobile behind the sheriff, and put on the helmet. The sherriff looked around at the assembly. They were all watching him. And so he put on his helmet and took off across the snow, the screaming of engines behind them nearly deafening.

Hotch’s heart was pounding… he was NOT enjoying the ride, but he needed to get to Spencer… and when he did, he was having a LONG talk with that boy about his ongoing habit of getting himself kidnapped…

\----------

Up the mountain, Reid had just woken up. He was cold, but the warmth of the dog and cat was keeping him from reaching the point of shivering. He tugged the blankets closer around himself, and curled up tighter around the cat, who began purring. Reid scratched the cat’s ears. He could hear Morton beginning to stir in the house overhead, but the man never came down to the basement. He moved around the kitchen and the smell of bacon soon reached Reid in the basement. 

But then twenty minutes later, he heard Morton leave the house. Reid sighed. His body was aching, his stomach was growling and his head hurt. But Morton apparently was still angry and wasn’t planning on giving him breakfast. Reid closed his eyes, hoping that he could drift to sleep so that he wouldn’t have to face the constant cramping and growls from his bruised belly…

But sleep wouldn’t come. His mind was much too active, focusing on psychoanalyzing the man holding him captive. Or at least trying to… focusing was hard when you were cold, hungry and in pain… Finally he gave up. He closed his eyes tightly and began to recite old poetry that his mom had read him. And he did this until he had recited himself to sleep…

It was the growl that woke him. Low and deep, rumbling through the chest of the dog beside him.

“… Blitz?” He mumbled, cracking his eyes open. Then he frowned. And he listened. The dogs outside. They were all barking… going crazy… and Reid, though not familiar with dogs, could pick up the feeling of alarm from the barking. Something had them upset. Blitz’s growling got louder, and then Reid could hear something else… A distant, muffled whine. It sounded like engines. Engines to a motorcycle or… 

A snowmobile. Blitz leapt to his feet, barking at the ceiling as a gun shot was heard. And then, even from the basement, Reid could hear the shouts. There were men outside. He couldn’t make out words, but it sounded like all hell had broken loose! Dogs were barking and howling, men shouting, engines roaring and then there was the occasional smattering of gunfire.

“Hotch.” Reid breathed, smiling slightly. “Shhh… Blitz… Nein.” The dog stopped barking and whined. “Platz.” Reid commanded, and slowly, Blitz lay down beside him again, staring at the door at the top of the basement stairs.

More shots. One. Two. Three… and then it was over. The dogs were still going ballistic, but the shots and the engines had stopped. All was quiet for a moment, and then the door to the kitchen was heard opening, and heavy feet were thundering into the house.

“CLEAR!” Reid heard, and he perked up, smiling. That was Prentiss!

“CLEAR!” That was Rossi! And then he heard more feet thunder down the hall towards the bedroom, and Morgan shouted “CLEAR!”

And then, from the bathroom and laundry room, “CLEAR!” 

Hotch… that was Hotch. A moment later, the door the basement rattled, and then was kicked in with a BANG! Blitz leapt to his feet, barking and snarling, moving to stand over Reid as Hotch came down the stairs with several of the deputies behind him. 

Blitz stood there, tail straight out, hackles up, ears back and teeth bared, barking furiously. The cat yowled in protest at the commotion and ran under the basement stairs.

“SHIT! SHOOT IT!!!” Reid heard a deputy shout in alarm.

“NO!!!” He shouted back, and seized the dog’s collar when the large German Shepherd lunged to attack. “STOP!!! Hold your fire!”

“SPENCER!!!” Hotch yelped, eyes wide as he raised his gun at the dog standing over his agent.

“HOLD YOUR FIRE!!!” Reid roared at the top of his lungs. “BLITZ!!! BLITZ!!! Nein! NEIN!!!” The dog kept barking and lunging, but Reid didn’t let go of the collar. “PFUI!!!” And Blitz stopped. He was still leaning against the hold Reid had on him, and was growling, but he stopped the barking and lunging. “Platz…” Reid said in a firm tone, and slowly the dog obeyed, laying down. Reid shuffled beside the dog, running his hands down the long back. “Good boy… Good boy, Blitz…” The dog wagged his tail slightly.

“Spencer?” Hotch asked, and the dog growled. 

“Have the others go upstairs. I’m fine.” Reid said gently. “Shhh… good boy, Blitz…” The dog wagged his tail again, finally tearing his gaze away from the Unit Chief and looking up at Reid, letting his tongue loll out of his mouth in a happy canine smile. Reid smiled back. “Good boy!!!” The dog wagged his tail harder, and relaxed.

“You’re hurt.” Hotch said, seeing the makeshift bandage on Reid’s arm.

“I’m okay. He didn’t do it.” Reid said, glancing up at the man. “Can you get me some clothes, please?”

“I got it.” Said the last deputy up the stairs, and a moment later, a pair of pants were tossed down. The dog watched the clothing warily, and then put his ears back as Hotch moved to give them to Reid. He growled.

“Nein.” Reid said, and Blitz stopped, looking confused and frustrated. “Bleib.” Reid said, commanding the dog to stay. Then he stood and moved over to Hotch taking the clothes. And then the man wrapped his arms around Reid in a tight hug. The dog leapt to his feet with a bark!

“NEIN!” Reid nearly shouted, and Blitz stopped, tail dropping. He watched Reid in the arms of the strange man, but a moment later, Reid returned to the dog, kneeling and petting his ears. “Good boy.” The dog wagged his tail, and Hotch watched in silence as Reid dressed, finally shedding the blanket he was wrapped in. Then Reid knelt. “Sitz!” He said, and the dog sat.

Reid then looked up at Hotch. “Approach slowly, kneel sideways, and then offer him your closed fist.” He instructed. Hotch nodded, and did so. He slowly walked forward, eyeing the growling dog. Then, slowly, he knelt and turned to the side. “Shhh… Good boy…” Reid was saying, soothing the dog with words and gentle pettings. And then, Hotch offered his hand. The dog growled low in his throat. “Nein.” Reid said gently, and Blitz stopped. Then, he slowly leaned forward, sniffing the hand. “Good boy!” Reid praised, and Blitz wagged his tail. He turned and looked up at Reid. “Good boy!” Reid said again, and Blitz perked and turned, sniffing Hotch again. Reid shuffled closer to Hotch and away from Blitz. The dog whined. 

“Hier!” Reid said, and the dog stood and slunk over, sniffing Hotch warily. Hotch eyed the dog in mistrust as he sniffed him over. “Good boy!” Reid cried again, and flung his arms around the dog’s neck. The dog wagged his tail happily. And then, Hotch let Blitz sniff his hand again. And this time, Blitz leaned in and licked his fingers. Hotch smiled slightly, reaching up and scratching the dog’s chin. And Blitz accepted it happily.

“There we go.” Reid said, smiling. He took Hotch’s hand and lifted it, placing it on Blitz’s head and guiding him into stroking the dog down his back. And when Blitz calmed, Reid let go and Hotch continued on his own. “Good boy.” Reid praised, and the dog licked his chin. 

“Good boy.” Hotch echoed, and the dog wagged his tail in a nervous manner, eying Hotch.

“Here…” Reid whispered, and Hotch felt something fuzzy and round placed into his other hand. He lifted the ball. The dog froze and his entire body tightened. Hotch smiled as the dog’s focus was suddenly totally and completely on the ball. “Throw it.” Reid said. Hotch nodded, slowly standing and drawing his arm back. Blitz pranced back a few steps, waiting. Hotch threw it across the basement, and Blitz bounded after it. He caught the ball mid bounce, turned and ran back, dropping the ball at Hotch’s feet and waiting. Hotch leaned over, picked it up… and threw it! And the dog charged after it happily. It bounced under the stairs and Blitz followed into the darkness. There was a crash, a yowl, and Kamikaze fled from his hiding place, hissing in disapproval as the dog chased him, the ball in his mouth.

“Good boy, Blitz!” Reid cheered, and the dog ran to him. Reid knelt and hugged him. The dog dropped the ball and sat down, closing his eyes in joy.

But then, something happened that made Hotch’s heart stop. 

Reid looked up at him, grinning, and said, “Can I keep him?!”

“… What?!”

“Please, Hotch?!” Reid asked, eyes sparkling. “I really REALLY want to! I love him! He’s so GREAT!!!”

“Uh… Spencer… Y-You…”

“I’ve BONDED with him, Hotch! Please?! I’ll walk him every day! He’s trained! Fully trained!!! Schutzhund!” 

“… Spencer…” Hotch groaned weakly.

“Oh, come on, Hotch! He’s such a GREAT dog!!!”

“… But… With our work…”

“The neighbors can watch him! Or we could see if we can get him to be an official Bureau working dog! I’ll do classes and get him registered! Can you imagine the benefits of having him in the field with us?!” Hotch just stared at Reid, mouth ajar. Reid grinned and leapt up, pouncing the man. “Thank you so much!”

“What?! I didn’t say—“

“You implied it!”

“How?!” 

“Your shoulders drooped and your eyebrows curved up slightly. You were giving in.” Reid stated calmly.

“But… Spencer…?”

“Blitz! You wanna go home?!” Reid gasped, releasing Hotch and whirling on the dog. “You wanna come home with me?! Huh?! Are you a good boy? Are you a good BOY?!?” And suddenly, Blitz was bouncing up and down and then spinning in circles, barking happily and play bowing at Reid, who dropped to his knees and flung his arms around the dog’s neck again, laughing as Blitz wiggled about excitedly, licking his face. Hotch sighed in defeat, and allowed a slight smile to grace his features at the joy he saw from the young man and his new dog. He shook his head.

“Alright. Let’s get out of here.” He said. “Blitz.” The dog looked up at him, eyeing him suspiciously. “Here.” He said, offering his hand. The dog paused, but then approached carefully, sniffing his hand and then sitting and wagging his tail hesitantly as Hotch pet his ears. Hotch smiled. “Good boy.” And the dog perked and wagged his tail harder. “Well… let’s find him a leash, and have a medic take a look at your arm.” And they headed up the stairs of the basement.

As they emerged, Reid held up a hand to stop anyone from approaching as Blitz was by his side, growling nervously at all the people. Reid pet him. “It’s okay.” He said, and Hotch handed him a leash that had been on a hook on the wall. Reid clipped it to the dog’s collar, but then handed the leash to Hotch. His focus was on the window out into the yard. Then, with a soft “Oh,” Reid suddenly darted from Hotch’s side. Blitz tugged at the leash, trying to follow, and whined when Hotch held him back with a firm “Nein” as he had heard Reid command. The dog looked up at Hotch and whimpered, then sat by the man’s side and stared after Reid.

“WAIT!!!” Reid cried, running out of the house. Everyone turned and looked. The boy was barefooted and in only a pair of pants. His entire abdomen was mottled with bruises. Morgan looked horrified. Reid ran to a handcuffed Morton, who had been fighting and struggling and howling, but now was looking startled.

“Where is she buried?” Reid asked. Morton blinked. “The woman in the pictures? Where is she buried?”

“… why?”

“Your house, and everything in it, is going to be seized. Let me bury Lily with her.” 

Morton stared, and his eyes filled with tears. “Her name is… Charlotte Laney. Family plot…” He whispered. “Two miles west of here. You… You would do that?”

“Yes.” Reid nodded. “You’re going to prison. For the rest of your life.”

“I know.”

“I… I can’t send the frames… but I can send you the photos. Would you like that?”

“… Yes!” Morton sobbed. “M-My dogs! What about my dogs?!”

“They’ll be adopted out to good homes.” Reid assured him. “I… I’ll take good care of Blitz.”

“Y-You?”

“Yes. I’m going to take him home with me. He’s a good dog.”

“And… And Kamikaze?”

“I’m taking him too.” Reid nodded. “I’ll take care of them.”

And a moment later, Morton’s face split into a tearful grin. “I know you will.” He said, and then allowed himself to be taken over to a snow machine.

“Spencer?” Hotch called, and Reid turned and ran back into the house. Hotch blinked and followed, watching Reid run down to the basement. He returned a moment later, clutching a large ginger furball in his arms. 

“Please… can I keep him?” He asked, his tone pleading. Hotch blinked, then looked down at the cat. And unconsciously, he leaned away, eyeing it.

“… What is it.” He demanded to know. Reid gave him a look. So did the cat. Blitz barked happily, wagging his tail and nudging the cat’s behind with his nose. 

“They’re best friends! I can’t take Blitzkrieg and not Kamikaze!!!”

“Kamikaze and Blitzkrieg?” Rossi drawled, and Reid nodded. 

“Please Hotch?!”

“… You’re going to take him no matter what I say, aren’t you?”

“Yep!”

The man let out a pained sigh, then nodded and waved his hand. “Alright, alright…” He groaned, and Reid let out a “Yes!” and cuddled the cat, who began to purr.

“Wait… You’re letting him take the dog and cat?!” Emily asked, looking stunned. Hotch sighed.

“I really don’t think I can stop him.” He admitted.

“What about all the other dogs?” Rossi asked, frowning.

“They’ll be taken to shelters around the state.” The Sheriff said. “They’ll be evaluated and if they’re adoptable, they’ll be put up for adoption.”

“Reid.” Hotch said. “We need to get you to the hospital and get you checked out.” Reid shrugged.

“I’m okay,” He said.

“It’s protocol, Spencer.”

“I know, I know…” Reid said, still holding the cat. “… I just… have to do something first. Help me find a little crate for Kaze?” He asked. “And there is a dachshund in the main bedroom with a litter of puppies. We’ll need to take them carefully. The pups are REALLY young.”

“We’ll see it taken care of, kid.” Rossi said. “YOU need to get down the mountain.”

“At least we don’t need to put Reid on that sled.” Emily pointed out.

“We can put the crates on the sled.” Reid announced.

“Let’s get you dressed first.” Hotch said. Reid nodded and locked the cat in the laundry room, then bundled up in the clothes that Morton had kept for his victims, and ran outside, Blitz trotting by his side. Reid went to the large supply shed and looked over all the supplies, finally finding several crates of several sizes and charging the task of assembling all the crates to some of the deputies while he grabbed a small shovel. 

Then, he approached Sheriff Mark Taylor. “I need you to take me to Charlotte Laney’s grave. Two miles west of here.” The man blinked, then nodded. 

“Yessir.” He said, and headed over to a snow machine. Morton, watched as Reid ran back into the house, and then emerged clutching the little box of Lilly’s ashes. Reid moved over and straddled the snowmobile behind Sheriff Taylor, and Hotch moved on behind Reid, sandwiching him in much like how Morton was sandwiched between two law enforcement officers. Reid turned and looked at him. Morton nodded to Reid, and then the snowmobiles took off in different directions.

The ride to the grave site took about twenty minutes. When they got there, Hotch was already harping on Reid for doing this with his injured arm, but Reid firmly said that he needed to do it. They entered the plot. It was surrounded by a crumbling stone wall, and there were a dozen grave stones inside of it. Reid began to look over them, and finally stopped.

“Here it is.” He announced. “Charlotte Laney.” And he took up the shovel.

“Not with that arm, Reid.” Hotch said firmly, taking it from him. He began to dig in the snow, and about two feet down, he reached the ground. It was hard and frozen, but at a soft “please…” from Reid, Hotch began to chip away at the soil. He dug a small hole, the ground becoming softer the deeper he went, and finally,when he had gotten about a foot and a half deep, Reid kissed his cheek, and then reached around him and laid the little wooden box into the hole. They looked down at the image of the Schnauzer burned onto the lid for a moment, and then buried it.

“Now.” Hotch said after a moment of silence. “Let’s get back and get you to a hospital.” Reid nodded and off they went. 

When they arrived, they found that all of the crates had been assembled. The Rookie deputy helped Reid to wrangle all the dachshunds into a medium carrier built for a dog about 50 lbs, and then, carefully, with the mama growling the whole time, Reid lifted the mother dog and her puppies, dog bed and all, into a smaller crate with a hot water bottle that Prentiss had found and prepared. Reid then wrapped the crate in a couple of blankets to keep the cold air out. He stuffed an angry and yowling Kamikaze into another small crate, and got them secured onto the sled that was made to bring an injured person down the mountain.

Then, leaving the rest of law enforcement to finish securing the scene, Hotch and Reid climbed onto two snowmobiles behind two EMT’s. Reid pet Blitz, who was looking anxious. Reid had put booties on his paws to help keep them warm, but the dog was looking nervous. Reid took off his leash, smiling.

“Good boy.” He said, and the dog wagged his tail. “Hier!” Reid commanded, and the snowmobile began to move. The dog froze, looking confused and scared. “Hier!” Reid called back over his shoulder, and after a moment’s hesitation, the dog ran after. The snowmobile picked up speed, but they made sure to stay slow enough for Blitz to keep up. Reid kept twisting around, watching him anxiously and shouting encouragement. They were halfway down the mountain before Blitz began to fall behind. He floundered in the snow, yelping. Reid tapped the EMT’s shoulder, and the man stopped the machine. Reid got off, feet sinking into the snow. 

“Blitz!” He called. “Good boy! Come on!” Whining anxiously, the dog made his way over to Reid in the snow, his flanks heaving. He was shaking. “Good boy…” Reid soothed, petting him. “Hier.” And he led the dog over to the sled where the dachshunds and the very pissed off cat were riding. Reid coaxed Blitz onto the front of the sled after shifting the crates. “Platz.” He commanded, and Blitz lay down more than willingly. Reid then used the sled’s straps to secure Blitz, who was looking nervous and confused again. He looked up at Reid, who pet his ears. “Bleib.” Reid told him, and Blitz put his ears back nervously. Reid then climbed back onto the snowmobile, looking behind at Blitz on the sled. 

“Okay.” He told the EMT. “Take it easy and we’ll see how he does.”

“Yessir!” She nodded, amused at her cargo, and they started to move. Blitz’s eyes widened and he moved into a half sitting position, splaying his paws out to brace himself, tucking in his tail tightly. His eyes rolled in fear.

“Platz!” Reid shouted over his shoulder, and after a moment, the dog lay down again. “Bleib!” Reid ordered, and the dog watched him, eyes still wide. “Good boy!” And they began to pick up speed. Blitz tensed, but after about ten minutes, be began to relax. And by the time they reached the bottom of the mountain, he seemed to be enjoying the ride.

“Take us to the nearest veterinarian!” Reid called, and the EMT nodded. The other, bearing Hotch, followed as they made their way through the snowy town, finally reaching the veterinarian, who had been standing by after being made aware that the police would be raiding a property in a case that might involve animal hoarding. She and a couple of techs, and several vets and techs from the surrounding areas who had come to help, all came out, ready. Reid got off of the snowmobile and took off his helmet. He walked up the veterinarian in the front.

“We have four adult daschunds in that medium crate there, a female daschund and some young puppies in that one, a cat in that carrier, and the Shepherd.” He said, and she nodded. “They’ll be bringing more dogs down the mountain once they can manage it. There are several dozen, but I’ve seen them all, and they’re all in pretty good health over all.” 

The techs and vets began to remove the crates, while Reid got the straps off of Blitz, who was more than ready to get off of the sled. Reid led the dog into the clinic, and a tech showed him to the large runs and helped him get the dog set up with blankets, food and water. Reid then spoke with the tech and doctor who ran the hospital. 

“He was used to guard the man’s victims.” He explained, Hotch listening in. “He doesn’t trust people. He and I managed to bond. I’m just leaving him here while I go to be evaluated at the hospital. But I’ll be back for him. Same thing with the cat. You can actually put the cat in there with him.”

“Alright.” The doctor nodded with a slight smile. “What about the other dogs coming down?”

And Reid grinned, took up a piece of paper and began to make a copy of the chalk board that Morton had. He ended up passing the vet a list of every single dog, their name, age, weight and breed and any conditions they had, and whether or not they were on medication, and for those that were, he listed what medication, how much and when. 

The doctor looked over the list, stunned. “How… How did you… All of these… and you… remember?”

“Eidetic memory.” Reid offered with a shrug, and then he was whisked off to the hospital, Blitz howling miserably in the back of the clinic…


	7. Chapter 7

Hotch frowned. Hospital waiting rooms were never ranked high on his list of most entertaining places to be, but this one had to take the cake… there was a television that really only showed a shopping channel in decent clarity, the Martha Stewart Magazine was dated before she had ever gone to jail, and the only disc that was available to play in the DVD player was “Twilight” and Hotch would rather strangle himself with his own necktie than subject himself to that. He glanced at the fake ficus tree in the corner draped in Christmas lights, and he heard Garcia in his head announce “the 1970’s called, they want their interior décor back.”

Great. He was so bored, Garcia was starting to deliver commentary in his mind. This was not normal…

“NO!” He jumped at the shout from down the hall. “I don’t CARE, you will NOT come near me with that thing!!!” Hotch sighed, heading down the hall to see what Reid was throwing his tantrum about. The young man was perched on the hospital bed, knees to his chest with his feet on the edge, and he was leaning back and holding his arm as far away from the annoyed looking doctor as he possible could, GLARING.

“Spencer. What’s going on?” Hotch asked, leveling a look on the youth. Reid turned and fixed his pathetic puppy dog eyes on Hotch.

“… I do NOT need an injection!” Reid cried hysterically. Hotch had to fight not to roll his eyes. 

“Spencer. Did the doctor say that you need it?”

“… I don’t!”

“What did the doctor say?”

“I’M a doctor!” Reid tried to reason.

Hoch gave him a look, and then looked at the doctor. “Well?” He asked.

“He has a dog bite on his arm.” He man sighed, looking thoroughly harassed. “I need to clean it out. That’s going to hurt. I need to administer a numbing agent so I can clean it out and stitch him up.”

“… Spencer, give him your arm.” Hotch said firmly.

“No!”

“Spen—“

“I don’t want to!!!”

“AGENT REID, THAT’S AN ORDER!!!” Hotch bellowed, and for a few moments, all sounds of activity outside of the room faded as everyone paused and stared at the door with wide eyes. Reid whimpered, then slowly drooped and lowered his arm, wincing as the doctor quickly jabbed him before he could change his mind. Then, Reid gave Hotch a glare.

“Don’t give me that look.” Hotch said firmly, glaring right back. “You let yourself get abducted for the ump-teenth time, bitten by a dog, beaten up, and now you’re insisting on taking a dog and… a thing that you call a cat, home with us. This is NOT a narcotic, you have NO right to pitch a fuss, so knock it off.”

Reid seemed to puff up. He drew himself up, opened his mouth and—

“Not one word out of you, Spencer Reid, or so help me, I will pull you from the field until I feel that you have come to an understanding that protocol WILL be followed without argument. Am I clear?”

Reid stared at Hotch, eyes wide, and then, his cheeks were dusted with a slight pink tinge. “… yessir.” He breathed. Hotch nodded, and Reid hunched over, wrapping his good arm around his abdomen. He kept sneaking looks at Hotch from underneath his messy hair… the looks were calculating and, Hotch’s breath caught in his throat for a moment, they were… pleased… Hotch watched as Reid crossed his ankles and pressed his thighs together for a moment before forcing himself to relax… 

When Reid glanced up at Hotch again, the man caught his eyes, cocking his head and quirking a brow in question. Reid blinked, and then gave the man a coy smile before looking down at what the doctor was doing to his arm. Hotch blinked, and then felt a smile tugging at his lips.

Finally, the doctor let out a sigh and moved away from Reid.

“There you go, Agent.” He said. “All stitched up. Do you know when you had your last tetnus shot?”

“September 18th, 2008.” Reid announced. The doctor blinked.

“Oh… uhhh…”

“… 4:23 pm.” Reid added. The doctor blinked again. “The vaccine lot number was—“

“Spencer, don’t be obnoxious.” Hotch chuckled, shaking his head, and then to the doctor, said “He’s a genius. If that’s when he says he got the shot, that’s when he got it.” 

“… Okay.” The ER doctor nodded, scribbling in Reid’s chart. “Well… I’m going to send you home some antibiotics and pain—“

“I’ll be fine with just some Aleve.” Reid assured the man. The doctor eyed Reid, but at seeing the hardness in his patient’s eyes, he just nodded his acceptance.

“Alright then.” He said. “If you change your mind, give me a call. I’m going to get everything together for you so that you can head up to your room for the night.”

“Wait… for the NIGHT!?” Reid demanded to know.

“Yes. You’re dehydrated and your temperature is too low.” The doctor said. “That combined with your head injury led to the decision that we’re going to keep you overnight.” Reid looked flabbergasted. “It’s just a precaution, and as long as you have no complications overnight, you can leave first thing in the morning.” The doctor said. Reid looked ready to protest, but a sharp glare from Hotch silenced him. 

And an hour later, Hotch was walking into the room that Reid had been settled in. Reid was no longer protesting… he actually looked quite pleased now… Hotch had a feeling that the electric blanket had a lot to do with that. The nurse had Reid take his first dose of antibiotic, and then left him alone. Reid looked up at Hotch, and smiled slightly. Hotch returned the smile, sitting on the edge of his bed.

“You spend entirely too much time in hospitals.” Hotch said after a moment.

“No kidding.” Reid snorted. “I should be earning Frequent Flier Miles.” Hotch chuckled at that, but a moment later, got down to business. Reid looked at the little digital recorder that the man sat on the side table, hitting record.

“SSA Aaron Hotchner interviewing SSA Dr. Spencer Reid on Friday, December twelfth.” He announced to the recording, then looked at Reid who had settled in and folded his hands on his stomach and was looking at Hotch, calm and professional. “We placed Agent Reid undercover as a Veterinary Technician under the assumption that the Unknown Subject, now identified as one Donald Morton, would be abducting a Veterinary Technician from the practice of Dr. Audrey Wolfgang, DVM, following the pattern uncovered as previously explained. Agent Reid, what was your first interaction with Mr. Morton?”

“He presented his dog, a Spayed female Golden Retriever, for a limp and a bordetella vaccine.” Reid recited. “As he had presented himself as blind, we offered him assistance out to his vehicle, and he accepted. He described it as a big blue van, and said that his nephew had brought him. The van was located around the corner out of sight of the security cameras, and there was no one inside. He said that the driver may have gone to pick up some coffee, and asked me to help him load the dog into the back. There was a dog crate in the van, but the dog jumped onto a blanket beside the crate. When I looked at Mr. Morton, who at the time had identified himself as a Mr. Dalton, he was pointing a gun at me and looking me straight in the eyes. He told me to get into the dog crate. I did as he said. He locked me in it and covered it up with a tarp and drove away.

“The ride was several hours up hill. He took me out in the main yard of the compound and into the house where he told me to strip. I refused, so he hit me. When I took off my clothes, he threw me down the basement stairs and brought down a German Shepherd Dog, Blitz, to guard me…”

When the team finally arrived at the hospital, Reid was just finishing up giving his statement, and he smiled when they came in.

“You guys look cold!” He announced.

“Freezing.” Morgan admitted with a nod.

“That’s nothing compared to staying in that basement naked…” Hotch pointed out with a frown. Reid shrugged. 

“I had the blanket.”

“In the basement? On the floor?” Emily asked, eyes wide. “Reid those were hardly anything!”

“I also had Kaze and Blitz. They helped me stay warm.” Reid said.

“You’re still lucky you didn’t die of hypothermia down there…” Hotch grumbled.

“Where’s Rossi?” Reid asked.

“He went to talk to Morton. There wasn’t much at the house regarding the other victims… we may need a confession.” Morgan sighed. “There’s a lot of evidence to go through. We’re hoping Morton will make it easy on everyone and plead guilty.” Reid nodded in acknowledgement of this. “At the very least, we’re gonna have casts made of the dogs’ mouths to compare to the wounds on the victims.” Reid and Hotch both nodded this time.

The team was in and out of the hospital for the rest of the day, and Reid begged to be released no less than eleven times. By evening, he was driving the staff crazy. And so JJ and Emily were sent to the hospital by Hotch to keep the boy genius contained. Reid was more than confused when they entered his room with…

“S’Mores?” He asked, sitting up in bed. “Where did you get those?!”

“We bought the ingredients from the grocery store, and then we cooked them up in the nurses’ break room microwave!” JJ said with a grin, offering Reid the plate. Reid immediately scooped one up and bit into it, getting marshmallow and melted chocolate all over his face. Emily and JJ each took one as well and sat down, and the group sat and giggled and ate their S’mores. They weren’t quit finished when a nurse came in with Reid’s dinner. She froze and stared at her patient, who had chocolate, marshmallow and graham cracker crumbs all over his face and down his front. He just grinned at her.

“I’m good!” He said happily. She blinked, and turned red. 

“Now REALLY!?” She huffed, bustling over and reaching to take the rest of Reid’s last S’more away from him.

“No!” Reid cried, eyes wide. “No no no!”

“You need to eat your dinner, Mr. Reid. Now give me that!” Reid leaned away, and when she leaned over to take it, he promptly stuffed it into his mouth.

“Truhtatekkitnah!” Reid announced gleefully, feeling a swell of victory at the GLARE he was getting from the nurse.

“Mister Reid!”

“Doctor.” JJ and Emily both announced, both fighting back laughter at the childish scene Reid had just acted out. The nurse whirled, glaring at the two women. 

“Alright, out! Both of you!”

“What?” JJ asked.

“Why?” Emily demanded, still grinning.

“Your presence is encouraging his behavior. Now out!”

“Uhmstoonuteeting.” Reid mumbled as he continued to chew his S’More.

“Yes, Dr. Reid, you are.”

“Nope. Full.” Reid said, finally swallowing and beginning to lick his fingers.

“OUT!” the nurse demanded, and Emily and JJ jumped and scurried from the room calling “Bye Spence!” and “Sleep well, Reid!” And then the door closed and the nurse bustled over and sat the tray of food down before Reid.

“Ooh! Jell-O!” He announced, picking up the little cup and spoon.

“Now really! Save that for after you eat the other stuff!”

“But I’m not going to EAT the other stuff!” Reid insisted, enjoying being a pain in the ass. Sometimes, you just HAD to cause trouble…

Hotch arrived at the hospital about an hour later, and upon his arrival, he had to endure sharp words from the nurse (while her colleagues giggled in the background) about what a difficult and obnoxious and disrespectful patient Reid was. When she finally stormed away, another nurse just grinned and said, “He’s amusing. She’s just… well… always like that. She doesn’t like it when people don’t do what she tells them to do. He’s NOT that bad. Really.” And so Hotch went into Reid’s room.

“Care to tell me what you did to upset—“

“That old battle axe they call a nurse?” Reid asked, grinning up at the man. “I just ate my Jell-O.”

“… Did you eat anything else?”

“… S’mores.”

“S’mores? Where the hell did you… oh. JJ and Emily?”

Reid just grinned. Hotch sighed and shook his head, sitting down next to Reid. “Spencer… try to be nice to the staff.”

“They’re keeping me here against my will. I really don’t have it in me to take it easy on them.” Reid reasoned, and Hotch gave him a scolding glare. 

“And maybe I don’t have it in me to let you take home that dog and cat after all.” Hotch growled. Reid’s eyes widened.

“What?!”

“You behave, or I’m not letting you keep them.”

“But Hotch!!!” Reid cried.

“That’s final, Agent.” Hotch said firmly, and Reid flopped back onto the bed and pouted. Hotch eyed him, and was unable to prevent his scowl from softening. He stood and moved over to the bed, leaning over him and gently kissing the pouting lips. “I’m glad you’re safe.” He murmured, and Reid blinked up at him. “Don’t forget. We still have unfinished business.” And he took Reid’s hand and fingered the ring on the boy’s finger. Reid blinked again, and then offered the man a soft smile.

“I love you, Aaron.”

“I love you too, Spence.” Hotch said, and slowly sat down on the edge of Reid’s bed, gently rubbing the back of the boy’s hand with his thumb. “When do you want to do it?”

“Do what?” Reid asked. 

Hotch grinned at the so-called genius’ obliviousness.

“When do you want to get married?” He asked gently, a loving smile on his face and filling his eyes. Reid blinked, and then his eyes dropped to the bed and he flushed.

“I… I dunno…” He mumbled, suddenly shy. Hotch grinned. 

“Do you want to do it sooner, or later?”

“I dunno.” Reid mumbled again. Hotch quirked a brow.

“Do you wanna do it at all?” He asked, amused.

“I dunno.” Reid mumbled, then suddenly snapped his head up eyes wide. “Yes! I meant yes! I didn’t mean—“

“I know.” Hotch laughed. “I did that on purpose. Sorry.”

“… You’re a jerk.” Reid snorted, and let Hotch kiss his pout away. Reid sighed and smiled slightly, the looked up at Hotch and said “I want it to be in the evening.” He said. “Maybe… sunset?”

“Okay.” Hotch nodded, smiling. 

“I… I don’t want it formal. I want to be comfortable… maybe… maybe barefoot.”

“Barefoot?” Hotch asked, looking surprised. 

“Yeah. I want to… feel the grass under my feet. Or… Or feel water.”

“Maybe on a beach?” Hotch asked.

“I dunno…” Reid frowned. “I mean… sand gets EVERYWHERE.” And Hotch chuckled at the face that Reid make. “No… I want to feel grass and hear water…”

“Okay…” Hotch nodded, smiling s big when he saw Reid’s eyes beginning to droop. “Do you want a cake?”

“Of course. Can you see Garcia’s tantrum if we don’t have cake?” Reid asked, and Hotch chuckled.

“What kind?” He asked. 

“I dunno.” Reid sighed, nestling down into the bed and smiling up at the man. “Maybe we can do a cake tasting?”

“If you want to, then we will.” Hotch nodded. “Do you want flowers?”

“Minimal.” Reid said. “Simple. This is NOT going to be a David Tutera wedding.” And he made a face, making Hotch chuckle as he thought back to Reid’s long day being forced to watch that Tutera show with the girls.

“What would you like?” Hotch asked, smiling. 

“Something… clean and simple…” Reid sighed, his eyelids growing more and more heavy.

“What kinds?”

“Just a simple centerpiece… bamboo and ferns for the greenery...?” Reid yawned. 

“And the flowers?”

“… white. Simple.” Reid mumbled. “… Freesia. And the white strelizia.”

“Strelitzia?” 

“The… Bird of Paradise flower.” Reid sighed. “… And dahlia and tulips.”

“Um… okay?” Hotch said slowly. “Any particular reason… why?” 

“Because of what they… mean…” Reid murmured, his eyes falling closed.

“… What do they mean?” Hotch whispered.

“… what?” Reid asked, eyes fluttered open for a moment as he tried to wake himself up again.

“What does the tulip mean?” Hotch asked, reaching out and gently stroking Reid’s hair.

“… True love.” Reid sighed, a smile coming to his lips. 

“And the dahlia?” 

“Forever yours.” Reid breathed. Hotch began to smile again.

“Freesia?”

“… hm?”

“What does Freesia mean?”

“… trust.”

“And the strel…. Streliatza?”

“Huh?”

“Bird of Paradise flower.”

“… It means ‘faithfulness’.”

“And the fern?” Hotch asked, trying to swallow the lump in his throat.

“…”

“Spencer?”

“… hm?”

“What does the fern represent?”

“… shelter.”

“And the bamboo?”

“…”

“Spencer?”

“… Mmmm…”

“Spence?” Hotch called softly. But Reid didn’t answer. He was fast asleep. Slowly, Hotch sat back.

Faithfulness, shelter, trust, true love and forever yours… Hotch stared at Reid, then slowly pulled out his phone and dialed.

“Sir!” Garcia gasped, answering. “How’s my Buttercream?!”

“He’s fine.” Hotch smiled. “I have a question for you.”

“Okay?”

“… What does… bamboo mean?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… like how a tulip means true love.”

“Oh. Let me see.” He heard her tapping away. “… Okay. Bamboo represents a gentleman with perfect virtues…” Hotch didn’t answer. He sat back and stared at the sleeping figure in the bed. Spencer, when asked what flowers he wanted at their wedding, chose the flora that he felt represented his elder lover, and his relationship with him.

“Sir?” Garcia called. Hotch swallowed the lump in his throat again. 

“Yes Garcia. Thank you. Can you tell me… what represents courage and fidelity?”

“Oh. Let’s see…” And she started tapping away again. “Um… Edelweiss and gladiolus represent courage… Iris is valor. For fidelity… amaranth, aster… Ivy is fidelity in marriage.”

“I see. Thank you, Garcia.” Hotch said.

“… Is everything… okay?”

“Yes.” Hotch nodded, even though she couldn’t see him. “Garcia?”

“Yes?” 

“Are you… still going to plan our wedding?”

“Oh! Yes! I would love to! Is that what this is about?!”

“Yes.”

“You want bamboo?”

“He does. He was telling me the meaning of the flowers he wanted but… fell asleep before bamboo.”

“what are the others?” Garcia asked.

“Fern, dahlia, freesia, tulip.” Hotch listed. “And the white Bird of Paradise. He wanted them to be white.”

“Really? I wouldn’t think he would want them ALL to be white… What did you ask about fidelity and courage for?”

“I think… that the flowers he chose are representing how he… feels about me. What he feels represents me.”

“Awwww…”

“And I would like you to use the ivy and the gladiolus to represent him.”

“Awwwwwwwww!!!” 

“And in his favorite color.”

“Well… the dahlia, freesia and gladiolus do come in nice light purples.”

“Okay. Go with that. Some white, some purple.”

“Do I have a deadline, sir?”

“No.” Hotch smiled. “But he wants it at sunset. And he wants to go barefoot.”

“barefoot?”

“He wants to feel the grass and hear water, but he doesn’t want the beach. He doesn’t want sand.”

“Okayyy… Well, we’ll need to do it in spring, early summer or fall… So it’s not too hot or cold for an outdoor wedding with bare feet. I’ll look around and see what venues fit what he wants.”

“Thank you, Penelope.”

“You get some sleep, sir. You sound tired.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s going to be another few days before weather permits you to fly home.”

“Okay. Thank you. Good night.”

And he hung up and settled back in the chair, staring at his lover. He smiled slightly, and closed his eyes, allowing sleep to claim him.


	8. Chapter 8

Hoch was woken up in the morning by the doctor coming in to check on Reid. Reid was already awake, and smiling at him.

“You look SO uncomfortable.” The younger man chuckled, and Hotch winced as he sat up, wincing as his back popped.

“Ooh…” Reid said sympathetically.

“Well, Dr. Reid…” The doctor said with a smile. “Your temperature is normal. How does your head feel?”

“Fine.” Reid nodded with a smile. “I feel comfortable and warm. A bit of a throbbing from my arm, but nothing abnormal about it.”

“Well, let’s take a look at your stitches and if they look good, you’ll be good to go.”

“Great.” Reid said, sitting up with a smile. Hotch visited the necessary while the doctor checked Reid’s arm, and when he emerged, Reid was standing there in the room buck naked. The man blinked, startled, but Reid just turned and smiled, said “I’m clear to go!” And then leaned over, giving Aaron Hotchner a delectable view of his little backside as he pulled some clothes out of his Go-Bag. Hotch had to firmly tell a certain interested party between his legs to calm down as he watched Reid pull on his underwear and pants. A few minutes later, Reid was dressed and ready to go. And when they left the hospital, Sheriff Mark Taylor was waiting for them, grinning, still with his little red bow bedecked ring of garland around the band of his hat.

“Good morning!” He waved. “I hope you’re hungry. Ms. Snow and Ms. Partridge are makin’ a special breakfast to celebrate Agent Reid’s victorious return!”

“Oh… I don’t want anyone to make a big deal out of this…” Reid mumbled, flushing.

“Nonsense!” Mark said. “They won’t hear otherwise!” And chuckling, Hotch guided Reid to the car and they were on their way! And when they reached the little sherriff’s station, they were welcomed by joyous applause. Reid was looking mortified at all the attention he was getting, but he couldn’t help his grin as JJ and Emily hugged him tightly and Morgan gave him a noogie. Rossi clapped him on the back, and then they all headed to the conference room. And as soon as they sat down, Ms. Partridge and Ms. Snow began to serve breakfast. This time, it was home made stuffed French Toast and Belgian waffles topped in fruit and whipped cream, and the men were thrilled at the steak and fried eggs. The girls enjoyed the fresh garden omelets, but Reid was over the moon over the several coffee blends. 

Breakfast lasted nearly two and a half hours. In fact, the only reason it ended when it did was because they got the call that the plane would be ready for lift off in three hours, in a brief hour and a half or so window of clear weather. And so the team had to big goodbye to the cheerful Sherriff’s station, filled with holiday cheer. Ms. Snow was crying as she kissed Reid on his cheeks, telling the “brave brave boy” to take care of himself. And then Hotch and Reid left the team to finish packing up with orders to meet at the air strip, while Reid and Hotch headed off to pick up Reid’s new pets… which Hotch had secretly hoped Reid would forget about.

But when they got to the veterinary clinic, Hotch couldn’t help but smile as he watched Reid fling the door open and run eagerly towards the front doors. Hotch parked the car and followed. Reid was talking to the veterinarian, who was smiling and presenting him with Health Certificates so that he could legally transport the dog and cat across state lines. He tucked the paperwork into his Messenger bag as the vet said “Your dog cried all days yesterday. And he wouldn’t let anyone touch him until this morning. And even then, I was barely able to do enough to get the Certificate filled out legitimately.”

“I appreciate it. And I’m sorry if he caused trouble.” Reid told her.

“It’s fine.” She said. “But it would be best if you got him.”

“Sure.”

“Just call him.”

Reid blinked, then turned. “Blitz!!! Hier!”

A moment later, they could hear the eager panting and the clicking of nails on the linoleum.

“BLITZ!!!” Reid cried, and the dog surged into the room, jumping on the young man and barking excitedly, licking his face. “Good boy, Blitz! GOOD BOY!!!” And the dog began spinning around eagerly, while bouncing back and forth from his front legs to back legs to front legs again. Hotch couldn’t help but smile as Reid dropped to his knees and flung his arms around the dog’s neck, and Blitz immediately sat and held still, save for his eagerly wagging tail. He was a VERY happy dog. And when Reid clipped a leash onto his collar, he was immediately on his best behavior, staying in a heel position and keeping his eyes on his new master. Though when Hotch approached, he did turn his head and accept the rub to his ears with a wag of his tail.

“Good boy.” Hotch said firmly, and the dog’s ears perked and he wagged his tail a bit harder. A moment later, a tech appeared with the cat in a carrier. The cat was VERY angry, hissing and growling and spitting.

“… Spencer…” Hotch said, eyeing the growling box. “Are you… SURE you want to take that… thing?”

“Yes! He’s a really sweet cat! He’s just scared.” Reid announced. “And like I said, he and Blitz are friends.”

“… Alright, alright.” Hotch sighed. Reid thanked the veterinarian again, and they left, Reid with the cat carrier in one hand and Blitz’s leash in the other. Reid opened the back hatch of the SUV and said “Hopp!” And Blitz leaped in. Reid set the carrier in next to the dog, and closed the back. Then he climbed into the passenger seat.

“How do you know all the commands?” Hotch asked.

“… I read.” Reid said with a wry grin. Hotch gave him a look, but then he smiled too and they were off to the airport, Blitz leaving nose smears across the windows the whole way. 

The team was already on the jet and waiting when they arrived. Hotch gathered his and Reid’s bags while Reid gathered the two animals from the trunk, and then Hotch turned over the keys to the vehicle to the SUV to the deputy who had come out to the airstrip with the sherriff when he brought the rest of the team out.

“Well, I guess this is goodbye.” The sheriff said, smiling and offering his hand. Hotch returned and smile and handshake.

“It is.”

“It was a pleasure workin’ with you Agent Hotchner, but uh… please don’t take offense when I say I hope to never see you again.” 

Hotch chuckled at that and shook his head. “None taken. I can completely understand that thinking.”

“I s’pose you get that a lot.”

“Well… considering the situations that require us to get involved…” Hotch shrugged, leaving the rest of the sentence unsaid. 

“Safe trip home.” Sheriff Taylor said, then nodded to Reid, who gave him a little wave with the hand holding the leash, and then Reid followed Hotch to the jet. The team looked up when they boarded, and a moment later Blitz put his ears back and eyed the team.

“We’re going to take this slow.” Reid announced, seeing the questions in his nervous teammates’ eyes. “He’s very protective of me. But if we introduce you guys to him one on one, it should be fine. He’s okay with Hotch now.”

“Maybe.” Hotch muttered. The team gave Reid plenty of space, watching as he secured the snarling cat carrier into an empty seat, and then he took a seat himself.

“Platz.” Reid commanded, and the dog lay down beside him. When the jet began to move, Blitz’s ears lay back and he looked around in alarm. “Shhhh…” Reid soothed, petting him. “Good boy…” When the engines roared and the plane lurched forward into high speeds, Blitz sat up and splayed out his front legs, eyes wide. Reid guided the whining dog’s head into his lap and gently stroked his face and ears, talking to him gently. And when the plane lifted off, Blitz began a loud, half bark, half howl.

“Will you shut him up?!” Rossi groaned.

“Give him a minute!!!” Reid cried, giving Rossi a look. “Shhhh… Blitz! Pfui!” the dog’s howling softened, but he continued to whine. “Achtung!” Reid commanded, and the dog immediately locked eyes with Reid. “It’s okay…” Reid told him, scratching his fur behind his jaw. “Good boy… it’s okay. Shhhh…” And the dog grew quiet. Slowly he relaxed, and as the plane leveled out, he rested his head in Reid’s lap and closed his eyes with a sigh. Reid smiled and leaned back in his seat, closing his own eyes.

“… Is Reid gonna bring home a new pet every time he’s kidnapped?” Morgan asked, smirking.

“No.” Hotch said, firmly, and Reid opened his eyes with a smile. “No more after this.”

“But Hotch—“

“NO. MORE.” Hotch interrupted firmly. Morgan chuckled at the glitter of mischievous amusement in Reid’s eyes, and Hotch gave Reid a look.

About thirty minutes later, Reid said, “I think he’s relaxed enough to start meeting everyone.”

“… Uh… no thanks, kid.” Rossi said, eying the dog.

“You’ll have to at some point.” Reid said. “I’m going to try to get him to be an FBI K9 Unit in an official capacity and be certified as his handler.”

“… What?!” Rossi blurted.

“That’s pretty cool, actually.” Morgan said, looking interested. “Dogs are a big help.”

“I saw some of Morton’s papers on Blitz.” Reid said. “He’s been trained to sniff out cadavers, drugs and firearms and explosives, in protection and apprehension, and—“

“Alright, we get it.” Rossi grumbled.

“So. Who wants to go first?” Reid asked. Everyone eyed the large dog.

“… I will.” Morgan shrugged. 

“Okay.” Reid nodded, turning to face the man. “Blitz. Achtung.” The dog opened his eyes and looked up at Reid. Reid reached out. “Give me your hand, and move to kneel.” Reid said. Morgan eyed the dog, then slowly obeyed. He move to kneel and reached out, placing his hand in Reid’s. The dog’s ears tilted back as soon as Reid and Morgan’s hands touched, and he growled softly. “Nein.” Reid said, and the dog quieted. Then, with a hand on the dog’s head, Reid slowly drew Morgan’s hand closer. The dog eyed them, and then slowly leaned forward and sniffed Morgan’s hand. “Good boy.” Reid said. Blitz looked up at him, wagged his tail, and then turned to get a better sniff at Morgan. Reid let his own hand drop from Morgan’s, and then he looked at the man.

“Talk to him.” Reid said.

“… Hey, Blitz.” Morgan said in a soft, pleasant tone. Blitz’ ears perked slightly. “Good boy.” Morgan added, and before everyone’s eyes, the dog relaxed and wagged his tail “Good boy!” morgan said with more enthusiasm, and the dog’s mouth fell open in a big doggie smile, and he thrust his nose into Morgan’s palm, wagging his tail harder as the man began to scratch his ears. Hotch smiled at this. And the team was soon laughing as the dog finally collapsed onto his back for a collective belly rub from Reid and Morgan.

Finally, when they had calmed down, Reid led the dog over to JJ.

“Hey, Blitz.” She cooed, kneeling and offering her hand as the dog approached. This time there was no growling, no tensing, no flattening of the ears. He stretched his nose out and sniffled her hand, wagging his tail hesitantly, and then licked her fingers. And when she began to scratch him under the chin while offering him a gentle, “good boy!” he moved closer and wagged his tail again. JJ ran her fingers through his fur, and then Blitz, without any prompting, moved over and sniffed Emily’s boot, then up her pant leg and finally licked her fingers. And soon the dog had his eyes closed, tongue hanging out with tail wagging as the two women gave him a good scratching all over.

“Oh, he’s a lover!” Emily laughed when she got a lick in the face. “Rossi? You sure? He’s a sweet dog!” 

Rossi frowned, but a moment later Reid sat down next to him and called “Hier!” Blitz immediately trotted over to Reid and sat down before him. “Good boy!” Reid praised, then looked at Rossi. He took the man’s hand and held it out for the dog to sniff. Blitz sniffed Rossi’s hand, and then nudged it with his nose. Rossi blinked. The dog licked his hand, and Rossi pulled it back. The dog followed the hand and nudged it again.

“What the hell?!” Rossi grumbled, shoving his hand into his pocket. The dog stared at him for a long moment, then let out a loud, demanding “WOOF!” Rossi’s eyebrows shot up.

“Do NOT speak to me like that!” He commanded the dog, pointing a finger at Blitz. Blitz whined, and then put a paw on his knee.

“Awwwww!!!” the girls cooed, and Morgan was shaking in low chuckles.

“I think he likes you, Dave.” Hotch said, a smile of amusement on his lips.

“Wonderful. Just what I’ve always wanted.” Rossi snorted.

“… He wants you to pet him.” JJ said, pointing at the dog. Rossi looked down, and Blitz perked up his ears and wagged his tail. This time, Hotch’s shoulders began to shake with silent laughter.

“… Uhg.” Rossi sighed in disgust, then reached out and pet the dog. Eyes immediately closed and a tail wagged harder in the joy that only a dog could feel.

“Good boy, Rossi!”

“Agent Morgan, I swear to God, I WILL shoot you.” Rossi barked over the laughter. Reid smiled at Rossi.

“Thanks.” He told the senior agent, and then returned to his original seat, taking Blitz with him and leaving Rossi to himself. Blitz lay down beside Reid’s seat, perfectly relaxed now. And not long after, they finally landed.

The team disembarked and headed to their cars, Blitz happily prancing along between Hotch and Reid, occasionally sniffing at the cat carrier that was now growling again. When they got to Hotch’s SUV, Reid opened the back hatch and without being told, Blitz leapt in and lay down, looking beyond happy. They loaded their bags and the cat, and then they were heading home. And the pair clasped hands over the center console as they drove.

Hotch glanced over at Reid.

“Spencer?”

“Yeah?”

“I was thinking.”

“Yeah?”

“You said that you just wanted some white flowers and greenery at our wedding.” Reid blinked up at the man, then blushed and nodded.

“Clean and simple.” He said softly.

“… What would you think about adding a bit of… color?”

“Like what?”

“Well… you told me the meaning of the flowers you chose. And… I was wondering… why those?”

“… Because… some of them make me think of… you. And a couple of them make me think of, well… us.”

“Well…” Hotch said, smiling as Spencer confirmed that his suspicions about the flowers were correct, “I would like to add in a couple of things to… represent you.”

“And you want them to be colored?”

“Your favorite. Purple.” Hotch said. Reid blinked a couple of times, and then smiled. 

“And what flowers?”

“Gladiolus and Ivy.”

Reid blinked, and then slowly, he blushed again. “… That… That’s courage and fidelity.”

“And I think they fit you perfectly.” Hotch said. Reid smiled again. “I would take you straight to a fancy restaurant for dinner right now, but considering our cargo…”

“Thank you for letting me keep them, Aaron.” Reid said, smiling.

“You’re welcome. I’m worried about how Artemis and Apollo will take it.”

“… they’ll get over it.” Reid shrugged. “But we need to stop at Petsmart and pick up supplies.”

“Oh. Right.” Hotch said, and merged into the right lane to head in the right direction. At Petsmart, Hotch got to carry the snarling cat carrier (Reid wouldn’t let him leave Kamikaze in the car) and after putting the car in the cart, he followed the boy around while he did what he needed to do. He got dishes for the dog and cat, picked up the Royal Canin German Shepherd food for the dog, grabbed a new bag of Siamese formula for the cats, and another bag of Persian formula.

“… Can’t the cats all eat the same diets?” Hotch asked, frowning. “This brand is really expensive.”

“It’s a REALLY good food.” Reid said firmly. “And they make these breed specific diets specifically formulated to address the specific dietary needs that is unique to each breed.” Hotch quirked an eyebrow, but then just sighed and shook his head and pushed the cart after Reid. Reid picked up more kitty litter (“Ooh! It’s on sale!”) and another litter box.

“Reid, we have three already!” Hotch cried, eyes wide.

“Number of cats plus one!” Reid announced calmly. “That’s the rule for the number of litter boxes you should have.” And he picked out a collar for the cat, and then they trotted to the other side of the store for a new collar for Blitz, as his leather collar was old, worn and cracked. Reid got the dog a couple of toys, mostly balls and frizbees, and then he headed to the vet clinic in the back where he made appointments for the dog and cat, explaining that the cat had never seen a vet and had to be neutered, and briefly explaining the dog’s background, and leaving them a copy of his meager vet records. 

They were ambushed on their way out of the store by the Trainer, trying to sell them training classes for their new dog, but Reid just grinned and announced that the dog was Schutzhund trained, and the Trainer’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull. She and Reid then launched into an excited conversation about dog training, and so Hotch just sighed and rolled the cart to the front of the store, paying for everything and getting two tags engraved with the new animals’ names, and Reid’s cell phone number, as Reid had for the other two cats at home.

And finally, they were leaving, heading home and pulling into the garage.

“Ahhhh… home sweet home.” Reid announced, getting out of the car. “You know!” He called over the roof. “We need to get started on decorating for Christmas!”

“Oh?” Hotch asked as they reached the trunk and opened it up. Hotch watched as Blitz hopped out and began sniffing around the garage.

“It’s our first Christmas in this house.” Reid said, smiling at his lover. “And I want it to be… special.”

“… then it will be.” Hotch assured him gently, and they began carrying things inside. Blitz trotted in, nose to the floor, and he began to slowly make his way through the house, smelling EVERYTHING. Reid knelt and set Kamikaze’s carrier on the floor of the master bathroom and let him out. He had set up a litter box, food and water, and set the carrier in the corner for the cat to hide in if he needed to, and then he shut the cat inside. Hotch gave him a questioning look.

“We’ll let him get used to the house slowly.” Reid explained. “First the bathroom, then the bathroom and bedroom, then the whole upstairs master suite, and then the rest of the house.”

“Ah.” Hotch nodded. “What do you want for dinner? HEY!!!” Reid looked where Hotch was running. The dog had cornered a panicking Artemis in the fireplace of the Master Suite’s sitting room. “NO!!!” The dog had frozen, wide eyed.

“Hotch!” Reid called, and the man skidded to a stop, looking back and forth between Reid and the dog. Reid grinned, walking up to Hotch and kissing his cheek. “Look at YOU being protective of the cats…” He chuckled, then moved over to the fireplace and reaching in, seizing Artemis by her scruff and dragging her out, cradling her close to his chest. “Shhh… It’s okay.” He told her, then knelt. Her eyes widened and she dug her claws into him as Blitz leaned in to sniff her, wagging his tail. Reid just shifted the cat, detaching her claws from his shirt, and turned her to face the dog. Her tail was all puffed up and her hackles were up. The dog whined and leaned in, nosing her chest. She hissed and WHACK!!!

The dog yelped and jumped back, shaking his head. Artemis growled, then bared her teeth and hissed at the dog, ears flat against her skull. Reid chuckled, grinning.

“There, see? She can take care of herself.” He said and released the cat, who fled into the bedroom and under the bed. “Knowing Apollo, it’s going to be a few days before HE emerges from wherever he’s hiding.” Hotch chuckled, shaking his head at the thought of the shy male Siamese cat. 

The pair then headed down the stairs and collapsed onto the sofa with a stack of take out menus and began going through to decide what to get for dinner. Then, as Hotch began to dial, the phone in his hand rang. He blinked, looking at the screen.

“It’s Haley…” He said, surprised.

“I’ll order the food on my cell.” Reid said, taking it out of his pocket and moving across the room to place the order. Hotch took a deep breath and answered. 

“Haley, how are you?”

“I’m doing fine, Aaron.” Haley responded. “Listen… We’re having a Family Christmas at my parents’ place, and… well, since you’re Jack’s father, we want you to be there.”

“… We? Your parents don’t even like me anymore.”

“Please, Aaron? For me… For Jack?”

“… Family Christmas?”

“Yes.”

“The WHOLE family?” 

“Yes, Aaron. 

“… Everyone?”

“Everyone. The whole family.”

“… Alright, then.”

Haley sighed. “Thank you, Aaron. We’ll see you then.” Hotch hung up the phone.

“Everything okay?” Reid asked, walking over.

“… Haley invited us to have Christmas with her family.”

“Her parents hate you!!!”

“I know.”

“You agreed?!”

“Well… she said it was for the whole family.” Hotch said. Reid blinked. “And that means you, too.”

“… She… okayed it?”

“Sure.”

“Aaron…”

“I asked if it was for the WHOLE family… she said yes.”

“… Nice.” Reid snorted, and Hotch grinned.

“I asked, she said yes.”

“You said FAMILY.”

“And you ARE my family.” Hotch said calmly. Reid blinked, then smiled, flushing slightly. 

“This is going to be a disaster, you know that, right?” Reid asked.

“It will make a point.” Hotch said firmly. “She needs to know that this isn’t a phase, and you’re not going away.” Hotch then smiled and playfully flicked some of Reid’s hair into his face, and the boy snorted and ran his fingers through his long locks, pushing it all back out of his face again.

“I appreciate that, Aaron.” He said, smiling up at the man. Hotch leaned over and kissed him. Reid sighed, eyes fluttering closed. But then both men jumped apart as a large dog barked at them. They stared at Blitz, who was prancing in place.

“… I think he has to pee.” Reid mumbled, heaving himself up off of the sofa with a sigh and opening the door to the back yard. “I’m gonna go out with him. Make sure he doesn’t take off.”

“The back yard is fenced in.” hotch pointed out.

“Just in case!” Reid called over his shoulder, closing the door behind him. Hotch sighed and leaned back into the sofa, and slowly, a smile came to his lips. He shook his head and stood, heading into the kitchen to get ready for dinner when it arrived. And half an hour later, the pair were enjoying their Italian at the kitchen table while Blitz chowed down in the corner. A moment later, there was a crash, and yowling from upstairs. Reid and Hotch froze, and then looked at each other, eyes wide.

“… I guess we know where Apollo was hiding this time.” Hotch offered weakly, and then watched Reid bolt up the stairs. Hotch just sighed and looked down at Blitz, who was staring at him, head cocked to the side.

“… Why did I say yes?” He asked, the dog. The dog blinked, then snorted and trotted out of the room, heading up the stairs after Reid, only to come charging down on a panicked Apollo’s heels a moment later, a happy doggy grin on his face. Hotch watched the puffed up freaked out cat haul ass, before he finally remembered himself and bellowed out “NEIN!!!”

The dog skidded to a stop and stared at Hotch, eyes wide and tail tucked in. Hotch blinked. He hadn’t expected the dog to actually obey him. “… Good boy.” He said, and the dog slowly relaxed. “… If only most agents obeyed as well as you.”

“I heard that.” Reid snapped, heading down the stairs. Hotch smiled up at him.

“What? Telling DAVE to do something is like talking to a two year old who has just fallen in love with the word ‘No’ and a pre-teen who has just discovered the art of sarcasm all rolled into one’!”

“I am SO telling him that you said that!” Reid grinned, chuckling darkly.

“… Traitor.” Hotch snapped.


	9. Chapter 9

It had been a week since the team had returned home from Vermont. A week since the new animals had moved into Unit Chief Aaron Hotchner’s home. And now, Hotch sat on the bench in the lobby of the vet, calmly reading through a little book he had found on German Shepherds. Blitz was currently laying at his feet, watching the goings on of Petsmart around them since his exam was complete. At one point, a very large and intimidating man was walking towards them with a large Rottweiler. Blitz slowly got to his feet, placing himself between Hotch and the advancing pair, and growled warningly.

“Nein.” Hotch said firmly, and Blitz grew silent and slowly lay back down again. “Good boy.” Hotch said, and Blitz looked up at him and wagged his tail, ignoring the man walking past dragging his furiously barking Rottweiler on the end of what looked like a towing chain. The dog lunged at Blitz, but Blitz never took his eyes off of Hotch. When the man and his dog were past them, Hotch smiled, pleased. “Good boy!” Blitz wagged his tail and happily accept the ear scratching.

A moment later, though, both Hotch and Blitz turned and stared at the nearest exam room door when an ear splitting yowl erupted from within. The dog put his ears back and let out a slight whine.

“Too bad that cat can’t be as well behaved as YOU.” Hotch snorted, and Blitz looked up at him and wagged his tail again. Hotch just smirked and went back to reading, wincing as the cat screamed again. Slowly, he slouched down and hid behind the book as more and more people, including the lady working the front desk of the vet, stared at the exam room door with wide eyes. A moment later, the door opened and Reid stepped out, closing the door behind him. He went and sat down next to Hotch.

“… What the hell did they do?!” One nosy person blurted out loudly.

“… They uh… they took his temperature.” Reid said.

“That’s it?!” Hotch asked, lowering the book and staring at Reid.

“… they also trimmed his claws.” Reid offered weakly. Then, there was a bloodcurdling, but muffled, feline shriek from inside the back of the veterinary clinic. Hotch slowly turned and looked at Reid, who was looking thoroughly embarrassed by his new cat’s bad behavior.

“Oh my God…” One woman hissed. “What are they DOING to that poor cat?!”

“Nothing!” Reid cried, eyes wide. “He’s just a… REALLY cranky and uncooperative cat!”

“It sounds like animal abuse to me.” The woman snorted, glaring at Reid. Reid gave her a weak smile. 

“I can assure you, Ma’am. They’re not abusing him. He’s just—“ Reid winced at an especially loud yowl, “really, REALLY mean.”

“So what ARE they doing to him?” Hotch asked, curiously.

“They’re running a blood test to check for Heartworms, FIV and Leukemia, and they’re going to give him his vaccines.” Reid said calmly. There was another yowl. Reid just sighed, again looking quite embarrassed. Hotch just snorted and went back to his book while Reid scratched Blitz’s ears. A few minutes, and several more yowls later, a harassed looking tech walked out of the exam room. 

“Mr. Reid… If you’d like to come back in…?” She offered. Reid nodded and stood, told Blitz to stay, and then followed her back into the room. About fifteen minutes later, he emerged with a growling cat carrier in hand.

“Well?” Hotch asked.

“We’re scheduling his neuter for later this week.” Reid said firmly. Hotch glanced down, and when he made eye contact with the cat, the cat hissed at him. Hotch made a face.

“Spencer… are you seriously still wanting to keep him?!”

“Yes!” Reid insisted, and went to check out. Hotch just rolled his eyes and held onto Blitz’s leash, and finally, the pair were leaving with their two new pets. 

When they arrived home, the team was in their front yard.

“What on earth?” Reid mumbled.

“Surprise.” Hotch announced, smiling. Reid blinked at him. “You wanted the house decorated for Christmas.” Hotch said. “I thought you would like to decorate with your family.” Reid blinked again, and then his face split into a grin. 

“… Really!?”

“Yup. They’re here to help decorate.”

“… Aaron, you’re the BEST!” Reid cried, flinging his arms around the man’s neck and kissing him, then flying out of the car calling “Take the cat inside!” And he and the dog bounded across the yard towards the team. When they approached, Blitz did so warily, but after seeing his master happily hugging the people, he approached with more confidence, sniffed hands and was soon wagging his tail as they pet him.

“You guys are great.” Reid told the team. “What IS all of this?!” And he looked down at the boxes all around the ground.

“Décor.” Emily said. “We’re going to get your house and yard done first, and then we’ll do the interior!”

“GREAT!!!” Reid announced, and dove into the boxes. The team grinned and they all followed his example. And to their amusement, so did the dog. Blitz, seeing Reid struggle to open the box with all the packing tape on it, seized it in his teeth and began jerking.

“Hey!” Reid yelped, seizing the other side of the box, and with a loud RRRRIP!!! The box spilled its contents out over the lawn, and Blitz bounded away with his part of the box, and began shaking it around, whipping his head back and forth while growling playfully. The team began to laugh at the happy dog playing with the box, but them got down to work, stretching strands of lights across the lawn, plugging them in and checking to make sure that none of the lights were burned out, and replacing the ones that were. And then, Hotch, Rossi and Morgan all started arguing about how they should put up the lights. But while they argued, Reid and the girls took some thin wire and used it to begin hanging wreathes in all of the windows on the front of the house, each with a big red bow on the bottom. A larger, fancier wreathe went on the front door.

When Reid and the girls were finished, and found the men still arguing, they butt into the conversation.

“Okay.” Garcia said. “Boys, here is the plan. We need you to get the wreathes on those upstairs windows, and you’re going to put the lights up on the eaves.” The men all stared at her, and then exploded into arguments.

“Do NOT argue! I am your Mistress of all Holiday Décor! You WILL obey me or face my WRATH!!!” She howled, then stormed away.

“I uh… I would listen to her.” Emily said, trying not to grin. JJ didn’t even bother trying to hide HER grin. And they skipped off.

“… I’ll get the ladder.” Hotch chuckled, and within fifteen minutes, Hotch, Morgan and Rossi were all scrabbling about on the roof, with Emily up and down the ladder to get them the strings of lights. It was decided quickly that Reid was not allowed on the ladder, partially because if his well-know about clumsiness, and also because when he DID try to go up the ladder, Blitz freaked the fuck OUT. And so Reid stayed on the ground. All through the early afternoon the team worked, lining the eaves and windows with plain white Christmas lights, which Garcia announced was elegant, classy and sophisticated, just like “her boys”.

It wasn’t without its mishaps, however. In fact, it was reminding Garcia of the song “12 Pains of Christmas”. Especially when she heard Rossi call out “… Wait! Why the hell are they blinking!?”

“Because you put the blinker light in, not a regular light!” Morgan had laughed.

But when they were finally done, they all trooped inside for lunch, which Reid, Garcia and JJ had been fixing. They enjoyed Hot Chocolate spiked with Amaretto, grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. And then Garcia turned on the Sounds of the Season channel on the television, and Christmas music filled the house. And so, refreshed, warm and feeling the Christmas cheer, the team got to work. Hotch lit a fire in the fireplace in the study and living room, and then red bows and garland were being draped across the mantles, up the stairs, and around doorways. Little LED light candles were being put into the windows, and a space in the corner of the living room, and in the sitting room in the Master Suite upstairs, were cleared out for Christmas Trees.

Christmas throw pillows were placed on the sofa in the living room, and then, before Reid had even realized that they had disappeared, Rossi and Morgan were coming in the front door with two beautiful Christmas trees. The girls were immediately cheering, and Hotch was setting up a Christmas tree stand in the living room, and then ran a second one up to the sitting room of the Master Suite. Reid was grinning, near tears in his joy as he clung to Blitz’s collar, holding the barking dog back to keep him from attacking the trees coming in the front door.

“Nein Blitz! Nein!” He laughed. “It’s okay! Pfui! PFUI!!!” And Blitz quieted to a whine, watching the tree finally pass by. Reid took him into the living room and sat on the floor with the dog, watching Rossi and Emily get the tree into its stand, while Hotch and Morgan struggled to get the other one up the stairs.

Finally, the tree in the living room was in its stand, and JJ, who was on her belly on the floor, had the tree secured in the stand. She moved away and Emily sliced through the cords on the tree. The branches sprung out to their proper positions, and Blitz jerked out of Reid’s grip, barking like mad as the tree suddenly exploded to be three times as big as it had been. Blitz lunged and began sniffing the tree carefully, ready to attack. Reid, JJ, Emily and Rossi watched him circle the tree, sniffing. And then, after a bit, he turned and trotted over to the fireplace and lay down in front of it, relaxing with a sigh. 

Reid grinned and laughed, shaking his head. “Crazy dog…” He muttered, and then watched as Garcia began breaking out more Christmas lights, and within moments, he, Garcia and JJ were stringing lights on the tree while Rossi and Emily were unpacking ornaments. Morgan and Hotch came down a moment later, and joined the group. And soon the team was also belting out Christmas Carols with the TV music station, butchering lyrics and laughing hysterically. Strands of red and gold beads were hung from the branches, spiraling up the tree, and then the ornaments were hung, all red and gold of all shapes and sizes, and soon, the tree was decorated.

And so the team then headed upstairs. Several of them looked around eagerly, having never been in Hotch and Reid’s little Love Nest, as Garcia promptly called it. They then began to decorate the tree that was in the sitting room, this time using chocolate brown and cream colored ornaments with teal beads and ribbons.

And finally, they were all sitting down on the sofas in the living room, waiting for the pizza to be delivered. Hotch was sitting in the armchair with Reid curled up in his lap, and the dog lying calmly beside him. Apollo was curled up in Garcia’s lap, purring loudly, and she was nearly purring herself. Artemis was sitting between Rossi and Emily, also purring as Emily scratched her ears.

But then, Kamikaze made his entrance. Everyone froze and stared at the cat.

“… He looks like Fizzgig!” Garcia hissed, eyes wide.

“What?” Reid asked, giving her a look. 

“Fizzgig! From ‘The Dark Crystal’!” Garcia said. 

“Oh my God, he DOES!” JJ giggled.

“Shhh!!! Don’t scare him!” Reid hissed, and they all quieted down, watching nervously as the cat sniffed over Rossi, and then Emily. And then, he moved to Morgan. He sniffed over Morgan’s head. Morgan blinked as he felt the cold nose touch his scalp. And then, the cat rubbed his face across the back of Morgan’s head. And he PURRED. Reid stared, mouth ajar. Morgan’s eyes widened. The purring cat began rubbing his face over Morgan’s head over and over again, lashing his tail. And then, he put one paw, then the other, on top of Morgan’s head and stood there, and began kneading. Morgan was stunned. Reid was too!

Kamikaze, the evil cat who was SCREAMING at the vet’s office earlier that day, was rubbing all over and KNEADING Morgan’s head!!!

“What is he DOING?!”

“SHHH!!!” Garcia hissed. “He’s kneading you!”

“What is that?!” Morgan demanded.

“He LIKES you!” Emily gasped, looking delighted.

“Me. This cat… likes ME.” Morgan deadpanned.

“Look at him go!” JJ laughed.

“I’ve never seen him that happy.” Reid confessed.

“Will someone get him off?!” Morgan asked, looking slightly freaked out.

“No!” Garcia gasped. “You need to let him BOND with you!”

“WHY?!” Morgan demanded to know.

“He doesn’t like people.” Reid said. “I want to encourage this kind of behavior.”

“… WHY?!”

“Would you rather he attacked your head?” Reid asked with a shrug.

“Wipe that smirk off your face, kid, or—“

“Or what?” Reid asked, looking smug. Morgan glared and stood. The cat stopped purring, sat on the back of the sofa, and stared up at the man.

“Blitz! Achtung!” Reid announced, and Blitz was immediately standing. “Pass Auf!” Reid commanded, pointing at Morgan. The dog turned and stared at Morgan. Morgan froze.

“… That’s cheating.” He growled, glaring at Reid. Reid just grinned.

“… Gib Laut!” He said, and Blitz let out a sharp, fierce bark. Morgan jumped, eyes wide, and Garcia and Emily howled as all three cats bolted, Artemis and Apollo catching Emily and Garcia with their claws.

“REID!!!” They all howled.

“Enough, Spencer.” Hotch chuckled, then said, “Blitz… Platz.” And Blitz lay down, completely relaxed.

“You suck, kid…” Morgan grumbled, slowly sinking down onto the sofa again

“You’ll get over it.” Reid snickered, and Morgan fixed a glare onto him. Reid just stuck his tongue out at his teammate, and then curled his arms around Hotch’s neck and snuggled up to the man with a taunting grin. Hotch rolled his eyes.

“Spencer, I’m not his boss here, do NOT try to use me against him.” He said, firmly.

“Awwww…” Reid pouted, still grinning. And then, a moment later, Kamikaze leapt onto the back of the sofa, trotted straight over to Morgan and began to rub the entire length of his body across the back of the man’s bald head. Morgan froze, eyes wide, as the cat began purring loudly once more. Garcia, Emily and JJ all doubled over in supressed laughter

“… Reid.”

“Yeah?” Reid asked, sounding slightly breathless as he too fought to control his laughter.

“… Get your damn cat away from me.” Morgan growled. Reid blinked, his lips twitched, and then he burst into laughter. And that got Rossi and Hotch going. And the entire team just enjoyed a good hearty laugh at Reid’s cat’s amorous obsession with Morgan’s bald head.

Then, the doorbell rang.

“I GOT IT!” Morgan yelped, leaping to his feet and trotting to the door. The team laughed again, and a moment later Morgan entered bearing pizza.

“Hm. We should have gone out to dinner.” Garcia sighed as she pulled a slice of pizza from the box. “Hey Reid… what do you want to serve at your wedding?”

“Huh?” Reid asked, his mouth full of pizza.

“That was random.” Rossi commented.

“Oh, not for me. I’m ALWAYS thinking about Reid’s wedding.” Garcia said, and Reid looked slightly disturbed. “So Reid. What do you want to have for your Wedding Dinner?”

“… I dunno.” Reid shrugged. “What do people usually have?”

“You should do something different.” Garcia announced. “Maybe like…fresh steamed crab legs!”

“NO.” Reid said firmly, giving Garcia a look. 

“What?” Garcia asked innocently. 

“I remember what a fiasco seafood can be.” Reid snorted.

“What are you talking about?” JJ asked.

“Garcia took me to Joe’s Crab Shack once. Insisted we get the steam pots.” Reid snorted. “I was NOT very good at eating the crab legs and Garcia was… well…” He trailed off.

“What happened?” Emily asked, already grinning.

“She had fun making our shrimp and crawdads perform song and dance routines, and I kept inadvertently flinging bits of random crustacean anatomy in every direction.” Reid confessed. The team burst out laughing once again.

“Now Reid, don’t be so hard on yourself.” Garcia soothed. “You’ll get the hang of it.”

“No.” Reid said firmly. “It was a disaster. I’ll make a huge mess. It was almost as bad as when I try to use chopsticks.”

“You just don’t like it because you don’t like it when you’re not an expert at something.” Morgan teased, and Reid gave him a look.

“Be nice.” Garcia chided the man. “But seriously Reid, you can’t be so hard on yourself. You’re not perfect. Hell no one is. I thought I was for a while but then I tried that walking on water thing? So not doing that again...” JJ choked, then laughed so hard that her soda came out of her nose, and that got the whole team going again.

“Alright, changing the subject!” Emily finally gasped. “Is everyone done with their Christmas shopping?”

“We haven’t even started.” Reid snorted.

“I’m done.” Garcia announced. “Got everything online.”

“Garcia, do you ever shop like a normal person?” Rossi asked.

“Online shopping IS normal.”

“Retailers are going to go out of business.” Rossi snorted, shaking his head.

“It’s a thing of the past, my Italian Stallion.” Garcia said. “The internet is the future of all shopping.”

“Oh, I don’t know about that.” Rossi snorted.

“Oh, but it is.” Garcia insisted. “If retailers want to beat internet shopping, they need to build one store per person, with warehouse pricing, with a sexy personal shopping assistant to carry my things, and not complain when I shop in my underwear.” And she sipped her drink calmly as the team stared, and then burst out laughing again.

“Anyway, good diversion tactic Reid, but it’s not working. What do you want served at your wedding?” Garcia asked, and Reid groaned.

“I don’t know! All I want is coffee!” And the team chuckled at that.

“You can’t go wrong with a good steak.” Rossi said.

“Or lobster.” Emily offered.

“There’s an idea.” JJ said. “Steak and lobster. Surf and turf.”

“And Rossi can provide the wine.” Garcia said.

“What?!”

“You’re the wine connoisseur.” Garcia said. “You would know what would go best with the meal."

“Oh.” The veteran profiler mumbled, and settled down. Hotch just chuckled, shaking his head and giving his pizza crust to the dog when Reid wasn’t looking.

“I wonder what some of the female agents would say if they knew that our dear Dr. Reid landed Aaron Hotchner…” JJ mused.

"I didn't LAND HIM!" Reid snorted, crossing his arms. 

“Yeah.” Garcia chuckled. "You were the landing STRIP!"

This time it was Morgan who spewed his drink as the team burst out laughing again.

“Alright, alright! Enough!” Hotch finally called. “Let’s just… settle down.” And he grabbed the remote control and passed it over to a demanding Penelope Garcia, who turned on the television. And soon, the team settled in to enjoy a cable TV showing of A Muppet Christmas Carol, Kamikaze loving on Morgan’s head the entire time.


	10. Chapter 10

EPILOGUE

That evening, after the team left and Hotch and Reid were preparing for bed, Hotch approached his younger lover.

“… This came in the mail for you today.” He said softly, and Reid looked down. Immediately, he took in the name on the return address. Donald Morton. Blinking, Reid accepted the envelope, tore it open and pulled out the paper inside, unfolding it.

Agent Reid-

I have to admit that I was furious when they told me that you were FBI, and that I’d been set up. But for some reason, I’m not angry anymore. They put me on some medication, and it’s really helped me calm down and focus and I’ve had a chance to think things over. I fired my lawyer yesterday, and pleaded guilty. And I’m writing letters to the families of all the people who died because of me. And I wanted to write to you to apologize. I’m sorry that I hurt you, and I’m glad you’re going to be okay.

I’m also glad that out of all the people who I’ve heard are adopting my dogs, Blitz went with you. I heard that you’re going to be getting trained and certified to be his handler, and that he’s going to be a real K-9 Unit for the FBI. And that makes me very happy. Blitz deserves to be doing what he was bred and trained to do. He will serve you well, Agent Reid. And while I never liked that damn cat, I am oddly pleased to know that he’s in a good home too. Especially with Blitz. That cat came around as a kitten when Blitz was still just a pup. They always have been inseparable.

I also heard that Deputy Randy Malcolm adopted Angel, and hearing what you’re doing with Blitz, he’s decided to take her to get trained and certified so that the sheriff’s department can have its own K-9 Unit. And Angel will be good for that. Sheriff Taylor has taken in Brandywine and the station itself is taking care of Hilda. Old girl is probably living through her last winter right now, but I know they’ll make sure it’s a good one. 

My dogs are really the only thing I miss, but knowing that they’re all being taken care of will make prison bearable. I can’t thank you enough for seeing that I got to keep the pictures of my Gramma Charlotte. And I also don’t have words to thank you with for laying Lily to rest with her. Gramma Charlotte is the one who taught me about the joy that comes from dogs. She was the most important person to me in my entire life, and Lily was important to her. You’re a good man, and I wish you all the best.

In highest regards,

Don Morton

Reid looked up, and then passed Hotch the letter. The man read it, then nodded, smiling slightly at Reid.

“You did a good job.” He said, and Reid smiled, and allowed the man to embrace him.

“… We have to go Christmas shopping tomorrow…” Reid murmured, and Hotch let out a groan. “You’re the one who spent the last week saying ‘let’s do it tomorrow’.” Reid reminded the man with a grin.

“Well… let’s do it the day after tomorrow.” Hotch chuckled, walking Reid backwards towards the bedroom, his hands on the youth’s hips.

“No.” Reid grinned, shaking his head.

“But I want to spend all day with you… in bed.” Hotch “reasoned”, and Reid laughed.

“But the team is on call over Christmas, what if we get called out on a case? We might NEVER get the shopping done.” Reid pointed out.

“… I can live with that.” Hotch shrugged, and Reid laughed, his legs hitting the bed. Reid sat down on it and smiled as Hotch wedged his hips between his knees, and kissed him. Reid sighed, curling his arms around the man’s neck, slowly lying back and feeling his heart pounding as Hotch moved to follow him, hanging over his body.

“Mmmm… Jack will be disappointed…” Reid murmured, and Hotch let out a half groan, half whine. “You wouldn’t let your son down on Christmas, would you?” Reid asked.

“You…” Hotch grumbled, kissing his lover. “Don’t play fair.”

“All’s fair in Christmas shopping.” Reid whispered, and then surrendered to his lover, closing his eyes and savoring the depth of the kiss that they shared…

He moaned softly as he was stripped of his clothing, and then their bodies came together, warm, needy, and oh so tentative. The familiarity was there, but so was months and months of separation… months lacking in intimate contact… it felt alien. But Reid opened his mouth to accept the demanding tongue and he arched his body into his lover’s, curling an arm around the man’s neck. He let his head fall back with a pleased sigh as their erections touched, and when Hotch gently rolled his hips, testing the waters, he was pleased at Reid’s response, pressing their hips together with a soft moan.

The pair began a gentle bump and grind, running their hands over one another’s body and stroking the places that they knew the other liked. And then, Hotch moved to see how much Reid was ready for… he ran a hand up and down Reid’s side, gripped his hip for a moment, and then rubbed lower, up and down his leg… and then his hand slowly slid to Reid’s inner thigh, pressing against the soft expanse of warm skin. Hotch paused, giving Reid a chance to tell him to stop, but he didn’t. Reid just kissed him again. And so Hotch began to gently stroke and massage Reid’s inner thigh, slowly moving higher and higher… And then his fingers brushed over the boy’s scrotum.

“Ohh…” Reid gasped, twitching at the contact. Hotch paused, and then lightly trailed his fingers over Reid’s groin, teasing the skin around the base of Reid’s erection, and then finally, his erection itself. Reid moaned into another kiss, lifting his hips into the touch and then beginning to roll them into the rhythmic stroking that Hotch took up. Reid broke the kiss then, letting his head fall back as he gasped and mewled, gripping his lover’s shoulders tightly. Hotch smiled at the pleasure he saw in his lover’s face and then bowed his head, kissing over the long neck and pronounced collar bones. 

His hand moved lower, palming the lust-swollen sack and bringing a high whine from soft lips. Reid thrust his hips up as Hotch rolled his testicles in his hand, and he spread his legs a bit wider. And then, with a deep breath, Hotch moved his hand lower. Reid let out a cry of pleasure as Hotch pressed the pad of his middle finger against Reid’s perineum in a firm stroking motion, and then, he was gently stroking the outside of a tight, quivering orifice. Reid grew still.

Hotch lifted his eyes and looked down into his lover’s face. Reid was flushed and panting softly, and was looking slightly worried, but he didn’t make a move or sound to indicate that he wanted the man to stop… he just lay there… waiting…

And Hotch made his decision. He leaned over and opened the drawer to the bedside table, and pulled out a small tube of lubrication, his finger never stopping its small caresses. He popped it open (Reid twitched when he heard it) and then he turned the tube upside down and let the lube squirt out over Reid’s perineum. It trickled down until it reached where Hotch’s finger was gently stroking, and the stroking began to spread it around. 

Reid’s breathing was coming in shallow breaths now, and he still was keeping his eyes tightly closed. And as the gentle stroking between his legs stilled, Reid drew in a breath and held it. For a long time, everything was silent. Time seemed to stop. There wasn’t a sound.

But then, the gentle finger resting against the young agent’s entrance began to increase the pressure. And then, it slipped in. It was quick and easy, thanks to the lubrication, and muscles fluttered and then contracted, testing the feel of the invading digit, and the digit slowly pressed in deeper.

Reid’s eyes fluttered and his head fell back, lips parting as he let out a soft, quavery “Ohhhhh…”

Hotch looked up at him again, and he let out the breath that he hadn’t even realized he had been holding. There was no fear on his lover’s face. No pain. Just relief, and delight. Hotch slowly withdrew his finger, and then pressed it in again. He was rewarded with another moan, and a slight thrust of the hips. And as he continued the slow, gentle pattern, Reid’s moaning continued. Hotch lowered his head and claimed the parted lips, savoring each and every moan as he devoured them.

And then, he withdrew his finger. Reid let out a soft whimper at the loss and stared up at his mate, almost pouting. Hotch just smiled down at him and kissed him once more, and then, he pushed two fingers into his lover’s tight entrance.

“Oh God! Aaron!” Reid cried, throwing his head back and bucking his hips. Hotch drew his fingers in and out, and then groaned as he felt long fingers curling around his erection. He buried his face into Reid’s damp hair, nuzzling him and inhaling his scent.

“Come on, baby…” He whispered. “Cum for me… It’s just you and me… and I love you, Spencer. I—“

But he was cut off…

“Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr…” Hotch blinked and lifted his head. Reid also blinked his eyes open. Reid’s hand had stilled on Hotch’s erection, and Hotch’s hand had frozen with his fingers still deep inside of his lover. The room was quiet. After a moment, Hotch snorted and kissed his little mate, curling his fingers and stroking his prostate.

“Ahhh!!” Reid moaned.

“RRRRRRRRR….” Both men stopped again. They blinked at each other. After a bit, Reid smiled.

“Kiss me.” He sighed, and Hotch did so, stroking Reid’s prostate again.

“AAAH!!” Reid cried out into his mouth. “Oh God… Aaron… G-Gonna cum… I… AARON!!! AAAAHNNNN!!!” And the younger man came hard.

“RAWRF!!!” Reid and Hotch both jumped and yelped, and whipped their heads to the side, and got an eyeful of a mouth of sharp teeth. “RRRRRRRRR!!!” Blitz growled, his eyes   
fixed on Hotch. “WOOF!” The dog barked and then LEAPT onto the bed.

“AAAH!” Hotch yelped, flinging himself away and then – THUD! He hit the floor.

“ACK! BLITZ!” Reid howled, and when Hotch managed to scramble to his feet, he found the dog lying on top of Reid, and growling furiously at Hotch. When Hotch stood, the dog barked a warning.

“… SERIOUSLY!?” Hotch blurted.

“NEIN!!!” Reid shouted, and shoved the dog off. “Blitz!!! AUS!!!” The dog paused, and then looked at Reid. “Aus, aus, AUS!!!” Reid ordered, pointing at the door. The dog flattened his ears, tucked his tail, and fled the room. Then Reid turned.

“… Are you okay?” He asked.

“Fine.” Hotch snapped, glowering after the dog. Reid gave him a sheepish smile.

“I’m sorry… I should have thought about how he would um…” Hotch sighed and shook his head.

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.” He mumbled, and crawled back into bed. Then, he looked down, and a grin split his face. Reid blinked and followed his gaze, and then his eyes widened and he flushed dark red. His stomach and chest was covered in semen.

“I love you.” Hotch said suddenly, leaning down and gently caressing Reid’s lips with his own. And then he slipped off of the bed. “Don’t move.” He disappeared into the bathroom and returned a moment later with a wash cloth soaked in warm water, and he lovingly cleaned his lover of his release, tossing the cloth in the direction of the bathroom as he kissed him again.

“Aaron…” Reid sighed, cuddling against the man. “Please… let me…” And fingers teased Hotch’s length.

“I’m fine.”

“But you didn’t—“

“That dog scared me so bad, it’ll be hours before I can get it up again.” Hotch snorted, and a look of guilt and distress crossed Reid’s face. “But I don’t care.” And Reid gasped as he was kissed again. This one was fierce and deep and full of passion. In fact, Reid swooned. Not that he would admit it, of course.

“You were okay with it?” Hotch gasped when they finally parted. Reid blinked up at him, and his eyes widened.

“Aaron, you’re crying!”

“It was okay?” Hotch asked, sounding almost pleading. “You… enjoyed it? Being… touched like that?” Reid blinked, and then he made the connection. Tonight was the first time he had been penetrated since he had been raped, other than by his own fingers one time a few weeks ago…

Aaron’s fingers had been inside of him for the first time in seven months.

“I… I liked it.” Reid whispered with a little smile. “It… felt good.”

“No flashbacks?” Hotch asked, hopefully. And this time, Reid felt tears coming to his own eyes as well.

“No. I was… happy.” He confessed. Hotch just nodded, overjoyed. “I AM happy.” Reid added, reaching up and running his hand over the man’s face. “So happy…”

“I’m glad.” Hotch whispered.

“… I don’t want to wait.” Reid suddenly announced, and Hotch blinked. Reid gave him a smile, running his fingers through the short, dark hair. “Let’s get married in the spring. In April.”

“Spencer… that’s only four months away.”

“I think that gives Garcia enough time to plan, doesn’t it?” Reid asked with a grin, and Hotch mirrored it.

“She can do anything.” He nodded.

“Let’s do it here.” Reid said. 

“Here?”

“In our yard. We’ll have the grass, and we can hear the water from the waterfall in the little pond out back and we have a BIG back yard!”

“Are you sure it’s big enough?” Hotch asked, gathering Reid into his arms and holding him close.

“It’s not going to be a big gathering.” Reid shrugged. “Just our closest friends and family. Fifty people tops, I’d think.”

“Well… We’ll talk about it later.” Hotch said, yawning. “figure out who we want in attendance and then we’ll decide when we know how many people we’re inviting.” Reid echoed his yawn, snuggling down into his arms as Hotch drew the blankets over them and flicked off the light.

“Mm-kay.” Reid sighed, his eyes drifting closed. “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.” Hotch whispered. And a moment later, the two men felt little paws on the bed around them as the three cats hopped up onto the bed. They waited while Artemis and Apollo hissed at Kamikaze, who hissed back, and then the three settled, Kaze curling up against Reid’s waist, and Apollo and Artemis curled up together by Hotch’s feet. And soon, all three cats were purring. Reid peeked open an eye as he heard the jingling of tags and the clicking of claws on the hardwood floor of the bedroom, and then he heard Blitz curl up on the rug at the foot of the bed and sigh. 

Then, with a smile, Reid closed his eye again and nuzzled closer to his lover, and drifted to sleep, listening to the thrum of the man’s heart, and the purring of the cats. 

And outside, with Christmas less than a week away, the snow began to fall.

END


End file.
